Roads in England could be at their busiest of the year this weekend as lockdown restrictions are further eased on Saturday. From 4 July, people in the country will be allowed to spend the night away from their household for the first time since lockdown came into force on 23 March, permitting overnight stays with relatives and friends as well as staycations, bookings for which have surged in the last week. About 10.5 million people – around a third of drivers (31%) – will use cars for an overnight stay, according to a survey by RAC Breakdown, prompting fears of major traffic jams and queues on the roads. Last week roads were gridlocked in Bournemouth and a major incident was declared when tens of thousands flocked to the beach. Police also closed the main road to Camber Sands beach in East Sussex after a mile-long queue for a car park formed. Some popular tourist hotspots including St Ives in Cornwall have already taken steps to ban cars and close roads to avoid overcrowding and encourage social distancing. The RAC poll of 1,400 motorists indicates a fifth (equivalent to 19% – or about 6.5 million people) could be planning a trip to stay over with family or friends. Campsites could also see a surge in visitors, with 6% of respondents (around 2 million motorists) planning an overnight camping trip. Another 2% (680,000 people) plan on towing caravans to a caravan site for a short break, while 3% (or 1 million drivers) could stay in a B&B, hotel or self-catering accommodation. On Saturday, gatherings of two different households will be allowed indoors and overnight stays permitted, providing physical distancing is maintained. The 2-metre distancing rule will also be reduced to 1-metre and businesses including pubs, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, barbers, leisure facilities and theme parks can reopen and weddings of up to 30 guests can take place – as long as “Covid-secure” measures are in place. RAC Breakdown spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “These figures suggest that after 15 weeks of lockdown, a large proportion of drivers in England are desperate to reconnect with friends, family and indeed nature by staying overnight, be that in a house or on a camping or caravan site. “This could lead to some busy conditions on the roads, with the location of queues likely to be dependent on just how far people travel. Motorways and major A-roads could end up taking the brunt of the traffic if people have longer distances to drive to see family and friends or to take a weekend break.” Figures show a clear rise in road traffic in recent weeks and the number of motorists breaking down beginning to approach normal levels. However, the AA said this was partly down to cars having been on driveways for weeks, and that, while it was increasing breakdown resources in preparations for “Super Saturday”, it did not necessarily expect to see the level of road chaos feared. “Although a huge number of people went down to Bournemouth mainly from London, Kent and Essex for a day trip, it doesn’t necessarily follow that a third of the UK car-owning population is going to go on overnight stays and holidays on Saturday night,” an AA spokesman said. He said factors including the weather and the reopening of pubs and restaurants, as well as the local lockdown in Leicester, would all influence whether people “celebrated” the easing of restrictions more locally or by travelling further afield. “A lot of people will look at Leicester and wonder whether they still need to be careful, and they will have also been put off by the Bournemouth and Southend experience. That will persuade a lot of potential travellers to hang back and see how things go. “But at this stage, nobody can really calculate to what extent people will hold back. The question is, has Leicester been a wake-up call?”