Friday
The best time to drive the M61 on a Friday
On a Friday the M61 is quietest at 20:00, averaging 65 mph, and busiest at 16:00, averaging 51 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 Friday
Darker means slower- 00:0063mph4% below normal
- 01:0062mph5% below normal
- 02:0063mph5% below normal
- 03:0063mph4% below normal
- 04:0063mph4% below normal
- 05:0065mphnormal speed
- 06:0065mphnormal speed
- 07:0061mph8% below normal
- 08:0062mph6% below normal
- 09:0061mph7% below normal
- 10:0059mph10% below normal
- 11:0056mph15% below normal
- 12:0055mph16% below normal
- 13:0053mph19% below normal
- 14:0054mph18% below normal
- 15:0054mph18% below normal
- 16:0051mph23% below normal
- 17:0054mph18% below normal
- 18:0059mph10% below normal
- 19:0064mphnormal speed
- 20:0065mphnormal speed
- 21:0064mph3% below normal
- 22:0063mph4% below normal
- 23:0064mph3% below normal
Across the day that is roughly 4 percentage points further below free-flowing than the M61's average day, so Friday is one of the harder 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 5 sensors on the M61.
Minutes you save on a Friday
Quietest against busiest hour65 mph46 min
51 mph59 min
13 minsaved on a 50-mile trip
Other trip lengths: 10 miles saves 3 min, 25 miles saves 6 min. Worked out from the average speed along the whole M61 at each hour, so a trip through its worst junction at rush hour loses more than this.
Questions about the M61 on a Friday
What is the best time to drive the M61 on a Friday?
On a Friday the quietest hour on the M61 is 20:00, when traffic averages 65 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 Friday usually looks like rather than what today will look like.
What time is the M61 busiest on a Friday?
The busiest hour on the M61 on a Friday is 16:00, averaging 51 mph, about 23% 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 M61 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.