Whitsun weekend: Traffic in the southeast initially normal

At the start of the Whitsun weekend, the traffic jams feared by the ADAC on the highways in the southeast have initially failed to materialize. The freeway police in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia emphasized on Friday afternoon that there was still no sign of a wave of travel or increased traffic.

Only on the A4 from Chemnitz to Dresden was there a traffic jam of eight kilometers on Friday before the Nossen junction. "Unfortunately, this is normal on a Friday," said a spokeswoman for the Saxony traffic warning service. On the other routes in the state, everything else was still quiet.

There was also heavy traffic around the Hermsdorf junction in Thuringia. "It's always full here, but today is a bit busier than usual," said a spokesperson for the responsible highway police department on Friday afternoon. Otherwise, however, traffic in Thuringia was fairly calm. In Saxony-Anhalt, the responsible inspectorates reported no traffic jams until the afternoon.

The ADAC had expected considerable disruption for motorists throughout Germany and in neighboring countries on Friday. Many people use the long Whitsun weekend for a short vacation, trips to the lakes, the coast or other local recreation areas. There are also roadworks on the highways in many places. Last year, the Friday before Whitsun was already one of the most congested days of the year.