AAA projects nearly 82 million Americans, about 1.94 million of them Hoosiers, will travel for Thanksgiving this year. The travel period spans from Tuesday, Nov. 24 to Monday, Dec. 1.
Christina Griffiths, manager of public affairs and communications for AAA Hoosier Motor Club, said about 2.9 percent more people in Indiana are traveling this Thanksgiving compared to last year. The majority of traveling Hoosiers, 1.7 million of them, will be driving. That’s a 2.6 percent increase compared to last year. Griffiths said it’s typical to see the majority of Indiana people traveling by car.
“It may be a little easier for some people. If you have family, if you have kids, sometimes you prefer to drive,” she said. “You might not be going quite as far. So, it's easier to just drive. I think that's very common here in the Midwest. You're not taking a huge cross-country trip typically. So, you might just be able to drive and make it a little bit shorter.”
Griffiths said slightly lower gas prices this year could attract more people to their cars. In Indiana, the current price per gallon is about $2.89. At this time last year, people were paying about $2.91 per gallon.
Nationally, over 73 million people will also be driving. That’s 1.3 million people more than last year. Griffiths said flight delays and cancellations during the government shutdown may have swayed more people to drive.
“Some of that anxiety may have caused people to be a little quicker to drive than maybe they were in the past, or maybe they were on the fence, and that was kind of a deciding factor,” she said.
Of the 6.07 million people traveling via plane across the country, about 167,000 of them are Hoosiers. Despite flying concerns, that’s still a 4.5 percent increase over last year. Griffiths said domestic flights are one percent more expensive compared to last year.
The top domestic destinations this year include Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Internationally, Paris, Amsterdam and Vienna are the top destinations.
Roads are expected to be busiest Wednesday and Sunday, while Thursday and Friday will see the least traffic. Griffiths recommends people leave early in the morning to avoid congestion. She said during Thanksgiving week, AAA receives more calls asking for a tow.
“That's a lot of times people either like sliding off into a ditch, or they did get into some sort of crash, or even if it's just like a fender bender, and now their car isn't going and they need a full tow,” she said.
AAA also gets more calls concerning a dead battery or flat tire. She recommends drivers test their batteries and get their tires checked before heading on the road.
“They're very preventable, if you can take that time to check,” she said. “Sometimes they're not preventable. Sometimes you might hit a pothole and things happen. And obviously we'll be there for people when they call. But whatever steps you can take to prepare your car definitely do it because you don't want to end up in that situation where you are stuck and then now you're delayed, and now you're stuck in more traffic.”
