'Absurd' traffic brings London to a standstill as locals flee ahead of lockdown

4 November 2020, 20:47 | Updated: 5 November 2020, 11:08

Traffic came to a standstill in Chiswick, west London
Traffic came to a standstill in Chiswick, west London. Picture: @ashadc1

By Megan White

London was brought to a standstill on Wednesday evening, with locals making last minute journeys on gridlocked roads ahead of a second national lockdown.

Dozens of motorists took to social media to report the "awful" conditions, with one woman claiming it took her 3 hours to travel 15 miles.

Traffic maps showed long delays in much of the city, with main thoroughfares such as the A3 in south London and A4 in west London looking to be congested.

Read more: MPs back new lockdown regulations coming into force on Thursday

Read more: UK coronavirus death toll climbs by 492, highest daily rise since May

One driver said traffic in south London was "the worst I have ever, ever seen, in three decades," with another saying it was "like the world was ending."

It is thought many people were attempting to leave the city ahead of the circuit break lockdown, which begins at 00:01 on Thursday.

People will be told stay at home and pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will close.

The lockdown will run from November 5 until December 2, after MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new restrictions.

Amid the chaos, one west London resident asked: "Traffic in Putney is crazy. Like bumper to bumper on all the main roads. Are people leaving London for lockdown?"

Another said: "A 25 minute journey home from Westfield took 1hr 40 mins today due to all the mad traffic, temporary traffic lights and road closures galore... It's chaos everywhere."

Boris Johnson has sought to reassure people the measures will be eased on December 2 as planned, and should enable shops and businesses to reopen in time for the run-up to Christmas.

But the Prime Minister acknowledged that it would depend on getting the R number - the reproduction rate of the virus - back down below 1.

The Government has published 32 pages of regulations including exceptions to the general stay-at-home message.

Listen & subscribe: Global Player | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

Specific reasons include education if it is not provided online, work if you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people's homes) and for exercise, which you can take as many times a day as you wish.

People can also leave for recreational purposes with their own household or on their own with one person from another household (a "one plus one" rule).

Examples of recreation include meeting up with a friend in the park for a walk or to sit on a bench and eat a sandwich. People will not be allowed to meet in homes and gardens, and golf clubs will remain shut.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Dorothy Chiles

Great-grandmother, 87, pictured for first time after deadly train station attack, as woman in her 20s arrested

President Donald Trump speaks on Wednesday night

Trump makes plans to meet Putin and end Ukraine war as he says 'the US wants its money back'

Exclusive
Katie Amess has spoken out about the need for an inquiry into her father's murder by an Islamist terrorist

Daughter of Sir David Amess, MP murdered by Islamist terrorist, ‘made to sign NDA’ on report into father’s death

Exclusive
Angela Rayner reveals she took advice from NHS trauma specialists ahead of Grenfell demolition meeting

Angela Rayner reveals she took advice from NHS trauma specialists ahead of Grenfell demolition meeting

Italian F1 Grand Prix - Previews

Nightclub bouncer behind £12m plot to reveal Formula One star Michael Schumacher's health secrets jailed

Josef Fritzl

Incest monster Josef Fritzl could walk free from prison next year - and expects 'cheering crowds' to greet him

Ofsted's Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver supports an extension to term times

'Time to think about school holidays': Ofsted's Chief Inspector supports extending term times

Exclusive
Angela Rayner insisted that British support for Ukraine was 'unwavering'

Rayner insists UK support for Ukraine 'unwavering' despite Trump's plan for 'immediate' peace talks with Putin

Prince William, President of BAFTA, operates a film camera as he visits the London Screen Academy in London, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool)

William tries his hand at being a cameraman on visit to London film academy

President Donald J. Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the G20 Japan Summit Friday, June 28, 2019, in Osaka, Japan.

Trump and Putin 'to meet in Saudi Arabia' and 'start negotiations immediately' to end war in Ukraine

Street scene in Peckham, London, with red bus

Bus driver, 76, found guilty of killing passenger who was run over while attempting to board vehicle

Norward Road, Lambeth, the proposed LTN.

Council staff given 'wellbeing day' after attending 'stormy' neighbourhood meeting

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb.

Ukraine's NATO membership plans 'unrealistic' says US - as defence secretary claims US troops won't be peacekeepers

Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire

Officer accused of pinning down and trying to kiss soldier, 19, had been 'waiting for moment for them to be alone'

A public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks will begin 'within weeks'

Public inquiry into Nottingham attacks will begin 'within weeks', PM tells victims' families

Paul Allen.

Cagefighter guilty of Britain's largest cash robbery shot in neck in his kitchen in murder plot