How to Avoid London Traffic
The best and worst times to drive in London — peak hours, school runs, events and how to use live cameras.
London's traffic is among the worst in Europe. Understanding the daily rhythm of congestion can save you significant time on every journey.
Morning peak: 7:30am – 9:30am · Evening peak: 4:30pm – 7:30pm
These windows see the worst congestion on all major routes into and out of central London. Average speeds in central London drop to below 8 mph during these periods.
This table shows typical congestion levels by time of day. Green = free-flowing, red = heavy congestion.
| 00-02 | 02-05 | 05-07 | 07-08 | 08-09 | 09-10 | 10-12 | 12-14 | 14-16 | 16-17 | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-21 | 21-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon–Thu | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Friday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Saturday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Sunday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
If you have flexibility, these windows offer the best conditions:
The quietest window on weekdays. Roads are largely clear before the school run and rush hour kick in.
After the rush hour has dissipated and before lunchtime. Good for non-urgent journeys across London.
Traffic drops significantly after 8pm on weekdays. Good for airport runs or cross-London trips.
The single quietest period of the week. Most roads in London are very light before noon on Sundays.
These routes consistently top congestion rankings — plan alternatives if possible:
Use our JamCam feeds to see real conditions at your key junctions before you leave. 5 minutes checking can save 30 minutes sitting in traffic.
The Tube and bus network is genuinely faster than driving in central London during peak hours.
Real-time routing apps reroute you dynamically. Enable traffic layer and let the app choose your route.
School term time adds significant traffic between 8–9am and 3–4pm. School holidays are dramatically quieter.
Major events at the O2, Wembley, Twickenham or ExCeL can completely gridlock local roads. Check before you travel.
TfL's website and the Street Manager database list planned roadworks. A single lane closure can cause miles of queues.
If Blackwall is closed, have a plan — Rotherhithe, Silvertown or Dartford. Don't get caught in a queue before realising.
Leaving at 9:30am instead of 8:30am can cut your journey time in half on many London routes.
Drive to the end of a Tube line and take the Underground into central London. Cheaper and faster than driving in.
Our interactive map shows all TfL camera feeds across London so you can scan conditions on your whole route at once.
Ready to check conditions right now? Open our live camera map: