Ben Lowry: Heavy traffic in Northern Ireland on Christmas Day reflects family bonds
Have you ever noticed how busy the roads are in Northern Ireland on Christmas Day and Boxing Day?
I was working on December 25, albeit briefly on the roads in greater Belfast, and then off work yesterday, Boxing Day, when I drove to a lunch.
On both occasions I noticed, once again, how much traffic there is on the roads.
When my parents were alive and I drove down to Co Down for lunch on December 25, I noticed the heavy traffic too – something I had never noticed when younger.
Now I see that roads such as the Sydenham Bypass, the Bangor road, the outer ring road in south and east Belfast, the M3 bridge, have so much traffic – two busy lanes in each direction – that a breakdown in one of those lanes would cause a hefty tailback (the prospect of which makes me wince – I ran out of diesel recently heading into Belfast...)
The reasons for this heavy Christmas Day and Boxing Day traffic are, I suppose, obvious, but uplifting even so – it is one time of the year when people make every effort to be around loved ones. Even, indeed, if such relations are perhaps not as close as they might be.
For all the justified concern about the commercialisation of Christmas, we are still fortunate to live in a society with very strong family bonds.
• Ben Lowry {@BenLowry2) is News Letter editor