If you are traveling this Thanksgiving weekend, you will not be alone. Travel agency AAA is estimating that 48.7 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving weekend.
The vast majority of travelers will commute by car this Thanksgiving. Almost 90 percent of those traveling will do so by automobile.
The 2016 Thanksgiving weekend is likely to be the busiest on the roads since 2007, when 50.6 million hit the roads and airways.
The increase in travel is a direct result of an improving economy, and low gas prices, AAA's President and CEO Marshall Doney said. The average national gas price is $2.16 per gallon. Gas prices are a far cry from 2012 and 2013 when the average price of gas was at least $1 more per gallon.
“One million more Americans than last year will carve out time to visit with friends and family this Thanksgiving,” Doney said. “Most will travel on the tried and true holiday road trip, thanks to gas prices that are holding at close to $2 per gallon. Others will fly, take the bus or set off on a cruise to celebrate with their loved ones.”
In addition to more travelers, weather could cause slow downs in parts of the nation. Heavy rain is expected in the Upper Midwest and Northeast on Wednesday. The South should have a mild, quiet start to Thanksgiving weekend.
