KEY POINTS:
Motorists are becoming smarter about timing their Easter trips home to avoid traffic jams.
Drivers faced long delays trying to get out of Auckland for the Easter break, but traffic moved freely for the return journey last night.
Sergeant Tobias Harrison, of the police northern communications centre, said travellers were possibly becoming more savvy when they left their holiday destinations.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Katerina Teo
On Easter Friday morning, knowing everyone would start heading out of town by say 5-6am at the earliest, I decided to go 2 hrs early, and although there was thick fog going through Waikato, even the trucks weren't around to guide me thru this so they decided to leave a little earlier as well, just getting ahead much earlier before the next man. Getting out and ahead much earlier if you see down Pakuranga Highway, the average person starting work at say 9am in the CBD will be driving through as early as 6-6.30am.
Martin
Well done to all the drivers traveling this Easter! Now if we could just apply the same staggered approach to the morning rush hour - Yes you bosses out there, its about time you encouraged flexi time, instead of expecting all the office workers to be at their desks at 08:30 and all leave at 17:30.
Arda van Kuyk
We just accept that when we go north, there probably will be delays, change our attitude, snacks and drinks in the car for the children and people watch. The other day a Mr Whippy van driver was waving to our kids..made the kilometres a little less mundane...attitude has much to do with how we manage the situation, which rubs off on the kids which in turn makes the journey OK.
Ben
To avoid the city-bound traffic on the Northern motorway this holiday weekend, we decided to do it a bit differently. Heading up to Omaha on Thursday evening we took the back route through Albany, Kaukapakapa and onto Woodcock Rd into Warkworth. It worked a treat and the usual 1.5 hour travel time was only slightly extended. To ease the return journey we stayed an extra night, got up at 0600hrs for a swim and then headed back to the rat-race, unfortunately when we got here we were still back in the rat-race.
Kim Hutcheson
When I lived in Auckland I avoided driving between 7 and 9am, and 3:30 and 7pm unless absolutely necessary. I also avoided key bottlenecks: Ayr St/Parnell Rd intersection , Khyber Pass, Greenlane Hwy between the Southern Motorway and Dominion Rd, Southern Motorway - entire length from Manukau into the City, Gillies Ave,South Western Motorway. It's not hard to stagger your activities around the peaks. Get your groceries delivered. Start work late and finish late (if possible). Know exactly where you are going and take the most direct route.
Mike Knoche
Stay at work for time and a half and a day in lieu and then have my holiday when the hordes have gone back to work.
Don
Have any of the Herald staff ever travelled south from Whangarei at a peak time and found once you have transvered the Waiweras and get on to the four lane motorway from Orewa into Auckland? What a difference it makes. In other words the answer to the traffic woes is a four lane SH1, especially up here in the north. But I have been saying this for 20 odd years. But the authorities know better.
Diana
We frequently visit the Coromandel (Matarangi) on holiday weekends and it can be a disaster. We now head out of Auckland only after 8pm, having had dinner in Auckland before leaving. On Thursday night there was still a lot of traffic but it was moving well - people who travel later seem to be able to drive better and you get far fewer delays. We also cut our weekend short and came back Sunday night to avoid potential disaster on the Kopu Bridge on Monday - looks like we could have stayed a day longer! We have also left Matarangi at 6am to get home - works very well - no trucks!
Dam
We leave in the early hours of the morning. 3 or 4am. The kids think it is an adventure to be woken in the dark and to travel in their PJs.
Dennis
I belief the reason for the ease of travel on the return from Easter holidays is simply that people are staying away longer as this is also the beginning of the first term school holidays.
Ollie
Leaving either earlier or later than you originally intend is usually a good idea, but there are things you can do to help ease the traffic jam once you are actually in it. Engine braking rather than manual braking is always a good idea, because your slowing motion and theoretically that of everyone behind you will become much smoother, especially because your brake lights dont come on.
Tambo
Congratulations on your insightful piece of journalism. It failed to point out that this happens to be the first week of school holidays, a time when traffic is quiet anyway. Good try though.
