Dartford Crossing traffic: the best time to cross

GOSunday 06:00Quietest daytime hour, 57 mph on the approach

AVOIDFriday 16:00Slowest daytime hour, 14 mph on the approach

Heading north into the tunnels, the quietest daytime hour is Sunday at 06:00 and the slowest is Friday at 16:00. Measured on the M25 approach, about 800 m from junction 2, Darenth, in Dartford, between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, not estimated.

The northbound approach, hour by hour

Darker means slower

Average speed on the M25 for each hour of the week, shaded by how far below normal it runs.
Day	00	1	2	3	4	5	06	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Mon	Mon 00:00, 57 mph, 1% below normal	Mon 01:00, 57 mph, 1% below normal	Mon 02:00, 57 mph, 2% below normal	Mon 03:00, 54 mph, -1% below normal	Mon 04:00, 55 mph, -3% below normal	Mon 05:00, 54 mph, 1% below normal	Mon 06:00, 49 mph, 10% below normal	Mon 07:00, 41 mph, 25% below normal	Mon 08:00, 43 mph, 20% below normal	Mon 09:00, 41 mph, 24% below normal	Mon 10:00, 36 mph, 34% below normal	Mon 11:00, 36 mph, 34% below normal	Mon 12:00, 34 mph, 38% below normal	Mon 13:00, 32 mph, 41% below normal	Mon 14:00, 27 mph, 47% below normal	Mon 15:00, 26 mph, 49% below normal	Mon 16:00, 22 mph, 59% below normal	Mon 17:00, 22 mph, 59% below normal	Mon 18:00, 31 mph, 43% below normal	Mon 19:00, 43 mph, 15% below normal	Mon 20:00, 47 mph, 9% below normal	Mon 21:00, 47 mph, 11% below normal	Mon 22:00, 44 mph, 18% below normal	Mon 23:00, 42 mph, 18% below normal
Tue	Tue 00:00, 44 mph, 13% below normal	Tue 01:00, 45 mph, 12% below normal	Tue 02:00, 46 mph, 10% below normal	Tue 03:00, 48 mph, 6% below normal	Tue 04:00, 51 mph, 1% below normal	Tue 05:00, 52 mph, 3% below normal	Tue 06:00, 46 mph, 16% below normal	Tue 07:00, 33 mph, 39% below normal	Tue 08:00, 38 mph, 31% below normal	Tue 09:00, 40 mph, 27% below normal	Tue 10:00, 36 mph, 33% below normal	Tue 11:00, 38 mph, 31% below normal	Tue 12:00, 42 mph, 23% below normal	Tue 13:00, 36 mph, 34% below normal	Tue 14:00, 31 mph, 43% below normal	Tue 15:00, 24 mph, 54% below normal	Tue 16:00, 22 mph, 59% below normal	Tue 17:00, 19 mph, 61% below normal	Tue 18:00, 40 mph, 27% below normal	Tue 19:00, 50 mph, 8% below normal	Tue 20:00, 54 mph, -1% below normal	Tue 21:00, 53 mph, 1% below normal	Tue 22:00, 48 mph, 11% below normal	Tue 23:00, 43 mph, 19% below normal
Wed	Wed 00:00, 41 mph, 19% below normal	Wed 01:00, 41 mph, 20% below normal	Wed 02:00, 44 mph, 14% below normal	Wed 03:00, 47 mph, 9% below normal	Wed 04:00, 51 mph, 2% below normal	Wed 05:00, 53 mph, 2% below normal	Wed 06:00, 48 mph, 12% below normal	Wed 07:00, 38 mph, 30% below normal	Wed 08:00, 44 mph, 19% below normal	Wed 09:00, 42 mph, 22% below normal	Wed 10:00, 42 mph, 24% below normal	Wed 11:00, 30 mph, 42% below normal	Wed 12:00, 25 mph, 50% below normal	Wed 13:00, 32 mph, 43% below normal	Wed 14:00, 27 mph, 51% below normal	Wed 15:00, 23 mph, 57% below normal	Wed 16:00, 17 mph, 67% below normal	Wed 17:00, 14 mph, 73% below normal	Wed 18:00, 26 mph, 52% below normal	Wed 19:00, 48 mph, 11% below normal	Wed 20:00, 52 mph, 3% below normal	Wed 21:00, 52 mph, 2% below normal	Wed 22:00, 45 mph, 12% below normal	Wed 23:00, 41 mph, 20% below normal
Thu	Thu 00:00, 40 mph, 23% below normal	Thu 01:00, 42 mph, 19% below normal	Thu 02:00, 43 mph, 16% below normal	Thu 03:00, 43 mph, 16% below normal	Thu 04:00, 50 mph, 2% below normal	Thu 05:00, 53 mph, 1% below normal	Thu 06:00, 46 mph, 16% below normal	Thu 07:00, 34 mph, 38% below normal	Thu 08:00, 41 mph, 24% below normal	Thu 09:00, 41 mph, 26% below normal	Thu 10:00, 35 mph, 36% below normal	Thu 11:00, 35 mph, 36% below normal	Thu 12:00, 37 mph, 33% below normal	Thu 13:00, 34 mph, 39% below normal	Thu 14:00, 19 mph, 62% below normal	Thu 15:00, 16 mph, 67% below normal	Thu 16:00, 16 mph, 67% below normal	Thu 17:00, 17 mph, 66% below normal	Thu 18:00, 22 mph, 56% below normal	Thu 19:00, 45 mph, 12% below normal	Thu 20:00, 52 mph, 2% below normal	Thu 21:00, 53 mph, 3% below normal	Thu 22:00, 50 mph, 8% below normal	Thu 23:00, 43 mph, 17% below normal
Fri	Fri 00:00, 42 mph, 19% below normal	Fri 01:00, 43 mph, 18% below normal	Fri 02:00, 44 mph, 16% below normal	Fri 03:00, 45 mph, 13% below normal	Fri 04:00, 53 mph, 1% below normal	Fri 05:00, 54 mph, 1% below normal	Fri 06:00, 51 mph, 6% below normal	Fri 07:00, 49 mph, 9% below normal	Fri 08:00, 48 mph, 11% below normal	Fri 09:00, 47 mph, 15% below normal	Fri 10:00, 31 mph, 42% below normal	Fri 11:00, 21 mph, 60% below normal	Fri 12:00, 18 mph, 66% below normal	Fri 13:00, 15 mph, 72% below normal	Fri 14:00, 14 mph, 72% below normal	Fri 15:00, 16 mph, 67% below normal	Fri 16:00, 14 mph, 73% below normal	Fri 17:00, 15 mph, 71% below normal	Fri 18:00, 21 mph, 61% below normal	Fri 19:00, 38 mph, 30% below normal	Fri 20:00, 51 mph, 6% below normal	Fri 21:00, 51 mph, 5% below normal	Fri 22:00, 51 mph, 6% below normal	Fri 23:00, 48 mph, 12% below normal
Sat	Sat 00:00, 45 mph, 17% below normal	Sat 01:00, 45 mph, 17% below normal	Sat 02:00, 47 mph, 13% below normal	Sat 03:00, 49 mph, 5% below normal	Sat 04:00, 53 mph, 1% below normal	Sat 05:00, 56 mph, -4% below normal	Sat 06:00, 56 mph, -3% below normal	Sat 07:00, 55 mph, -1% below normal	Sat 08:00, 53 mph, 2% below normal	Sat 09:00, 48 mph, 11% below normal	Sat 10:00, 35 mph, 36% below normal	Sat 11:00, 26 mph, 53% below normal	Sat 12:00, 23 mph, 58% below normal	Sat 13:00, 26 mph, 52% below normal	Sat 14:00, 30 mph, 44% below normal	Sat 15:00, 37 mph, 32% below normal	Sat 16:00, 43 mph, 21% below normal	Sat 17:00, 44 mph, 18% below normal	Sat 18:00, 45 mph, 18% below normal	Sat 19:00, 51 mph, 4% below normal	Sat 20:00, 54 mph, 0% below normal	Sat 21:00, 52 mph, 3% below normal	Sat 22:00, 46 mph, 16% below normal	Sat 23:00, 48 mph, 12% below normal
Sun	Sun 00:00, 51 mph, 6% below normal	Sun 01:00, 52 mph, 5% below normal	Sun 02:00, 52 mph, 4% below normal	Sun 03:00, 53 mph, 2% below normal	Sun 04:00, 54 mph, -1% below normal	Sun 05:00, 56 mph, -5% below normal	Sun 06:00, 57 mph, -5% below normal	Sun 07:00, 56 mph, -5% below normal	Sun 08:00, 55 mph, -2% below normal	Sun 09:00, 54 mph, 0% below normal	Sun 10:00, 47 mph, 13% below normal	Sun 11:00, 35 mph, 35% below normal	Sun 12:00, 28 mph, 49% below normal	Sun 13:00, 28 mph, 49% below normal	Sun 14:00, 34 mph, 38% below normal	Sun 15:00, 40 mph, 27% below normal	Sun 16:00, 41 mph, 26% below normal	Sun 17:00, 36 mph, 34% below normal	Sun 18:00, 38 mph, 30% below normal	Sun 19:00, 47 mph, 14% below normal	Sun 20:00, 53 mph, 1% below normal	Sun 21:00, 53 mph, 1% below normal	Sun 22:00, 51 mph, 5% below normal	Sun 23:00, 57 mph, 1% below normal

FasterSlower

Rush hour at the crossing

Weekdays, northbound approach

MORNING RUSH HOUR

No clear rush hour

Weekday traffic stays within a few percent of normal speed at this time of day.

EVENING RUSH HOUR

14:00 to 18:00

Worst at 17:00, about 66% below normal speed on a weekday

The Dart Charge

GOV.UK says you usually need to pay if you cross between 6am and 10pm, including at weekends and on bank holidays, and you need to pay by midnight the day after you cross. At 22:00 on a weekday, when the charging hours end, the northbound approach typically runs 11% below its normal speed.

What this measures

National Highways has no public sensor on the crossing itself, so these figures come from the M25 sensors on the anticlockwise approach at junction 2, before the tunnels, where the queue builds. Southbound traffic over the bridge is only measured after the crossing, which says little about the queue, so it is not used here. These are typical patterns from the sensor archive, not live traffic. See the whole M25 and M25 roadworks and closures.

Questions about the Dartford Crossing

What is the best time to use the Dartford Crossing?

Heading north through the tunnels, the quietest daytime hour is Sunday at 06:00 (about 57 mph on the approach) and the slowest is Friday at 16:00 (about 14 mph). Measured from National Highways sensors on the M25 at junction 2 between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, not estimated.

When is the Dartford Crossing busiest?

On weekdays the morning rush on the northbound approach is too faint to call, and the evening rush is 14:00 to 18:00, worst at 17:00.

When do you have to pay the Dartford Crossing charge?

GOV.UK says you usually need to pay if you use the crossing between 6am and 10pm, including at weekends and on bank holidays, and that you need to pay by midnight the day after you cross.