With the kids now back at school, France is set for some quiet roads over the next month. Shame the same cannot be said for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

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Super-heavy holiday traffic in France skewed much later this summer than anyone expected.

But with the kids back at school, from now on there are few risks of crowded mountains and motorways.

Traffic monitor Bison Fute has no warnings at all for the whole of September.

Meanwhile, barring freak weather events, all the Alps’ passes are still open too.

And the hot spell is set to continue. There will never be a better time to go!

If you don’t mind we’ll be less gushing about the prospects in Germany.

Holiday traffic has dragged on there too – like it did last year.

With the southern Netherlands and most of northern Germany heading back to school next week – and the southern states of Baden Wurttemberg and Bavaria the week after – return traffic is bound to be crowded, though likely easier for those heading off on holiday.

However, the summer Saturday truck ban is now at an end reports ADAC.

Switzerland is back at school too but the weight of German drivers heading north will see protracted delays at the Gotthard Tunnel, albeit not as bad as last month (and declining steadily throughout the rest of September). There will be queues southbound too.

Return traffic will also be heavy across Austria, at all the usual suspects – B179 Fernpass and the three motorway border crossings with Germany in the west where border queues have resurfaced in recent weeks, especially early on.

German returnees will also make their presence felt on the A22 Brennero north from Verona, particularly late morning, but holiday traffic in Italy generally is on the wane.

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