Thanksgiving travel: Record-setting holiday travel begins as many sit in gridlock traffic
PHILADELPHIA - Holiday travel has begun as the countdown to Turkey Day is on! Leave yourself plenty of time to get where you are going, as over 70 million people are traveling with you, according to AAA.
And, Tuesday is one of the worst days to be on the road, so if you have reached your destination, you are smooth sailing until Thursday’s dinner.
The turkey isn’t even in the oven, yet, but the holiday travel season is already in full swing. Tuesday night, a two-hour trip from DC took four and a half for the Whiting family.
"It’s been like gridlock. Every road, it’s just bumper-to-bumper crashes. It’s just exhausting," Andrea Whiting exclaimed.
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They weren’t the only ones seeing red. Marcus Stevens was in jammed-packed traffic on I-95 and chatted with FOX 29’s Chris O’Connell.
"How is traffic tonight?" O’Connell asked.
"There is no moving, there is no travel," he replied.
They both laughed and O’Connell stated, "You are stuck."
Stevens retorted, "Sitting right here talking to you."
AAA Spokesperson Jana Tidwell, stated, "We are expecting record-setting travel volume."
AAA estimates just under 80 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home over the holiday travel period, which is up more than a million and a half people compared to last year.
Tidwell continued, "Here locally, nearly 875,000 Philadelphia area residents will travel. 90 percent of those travelers, here in the region, will be going by car."
Wednesday is the busiest getaway day with a majority of travelers returning home Sunday afternoon. Some families, especially those with little ones in tow, are just trying to make the best of a long travel day.
Jamie Bascow, from Salisbury, Maryland, said, "It’s a great time of year. You see the kid back there? He’s crying, but he’s happy. You know…going to see Grandmom."
And, remember Marcus? He was still in traffic, hoping to make it home for the holiday, "Hopefully, I can get out of this traffic and get some turkey."