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Sunday

M6

The best time to drive the M6 on a Sunday

GO07:00Quietest daytime hour, 64 mph average
AVOID13:00Busiest daytime hour, 59 mph average
Photo: Andrew Abbott, Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0, resized

On a Sunday the M6 is quietest at 07:00, averaging 64 mph, and busiest at 13:00, averaging 59 mph. Measured from National Highways roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, not estimated.

  • Measured, not estimated
  • 1 May 2026 to 15 June 2026

Every hour of a Sunday

Darker means slower
  1. 00:0062mphnormal speed
  2. 01:0062mphnormal speed
  3. 02:0061mphnormal speed
  4. 03:0062mphnormal speed
  5. 04:0062mphnormal speed
  6. 05:0063mphnormal speed
  7. 06:0064mphnormal speed
  8. 07:0064mphnormal speed
  9. 08:0064mphnormal speed
  10. 09:0063mphnormal speed
  11. 10:0061mphnormal speed
  12. 11:0059mph5% below normal
  13. 12:0059mph6% below normal
  14. 13:0059mph6% below normal
  15. 14:0059mph5% below normal
  16. 15:0060mph4% below normal
  17. 16:0059mph5% below normal
  18. 17:0060mph5% below normal
  19. 18:0061mphnormal speed
  20. 19:0062mphnormal speed
  21. 20:0063mphnormal speed
  22. 21:0062mphnormal speed
  23. 22:0061mphnormal speed
  24. 23:0062mphnormal speed

Across the day that is roughly 7 percentage points closer to free-flowing than the M6's average day, so Sunday is one of the easier days to travel on this road. Hours outside 06:00 to 22:00 are shown but greyed: the small hours are the fastest on almost every road in England, which is true and useless for planning. Averaged across 12 sensors on the M6.

Minutes you save on a Sunday

Quietest against busiest hour
07:00
64 mph
47 min
13:00
59 mph
51 min

4 minsaved on a 50-mile trip

Other trip lengths: 10 miles saves 1 min, 25 miles saves 3 min. Worked out from the average speed along the whole M6 at each hour, so a trip through its worst junction at rush hour loses more than this.

Questions about the M6 on a Sunday

What is the best time to drive the M6 on a Sunday?

On a Sunday the quietest hour on the M6 is 07:00, when traffic averages 64 mph. That is a measured average from National Highways roadside sensors on the road itself, recorded between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, rather than an estimate. Only 06:00 to 22:00 is considered, because the small hours are the fastest on almost every road in England and saying so helps nobody plan a journey. Roadworks, collisions and weather are not in the average, so it describes what this Sunday usually looks like rather than what today will look like.

What time is the M6 busiest on a Sunday?

The busiest hour on the M6 on a Sunday is 13:00, averaging 59 mph, about 6% below the speed the road runs at when it is clear. The comparison is against this road's own free-flowing speed, so "slower" means slower than the M6 normally manages rather than slower than some national figure. Measured from roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026. It is an archive of the usual pattern, not a live reading, so check conditions before you set off.

The M6 on other days

Same road, different day

Every road on a Sunday

The whole week on the M6What is closed on the M6 now