Thanksgiving travelers should prepare for busy roads this year.
The American Automobile Association predicts that 48.7 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles for the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which begins Wednesday and ends Sunday. The projection represents the busiest Thanksgiving for travel since 2007, when 50.6 million people traveled for the holiday.
In the East South Central region — which includes Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee — AAA projects that 2.9 million people will travel. Of those, 2.8 million people are expected to travel by automobile.
AAA Public Affairs Specialist Don Redman said the busy Thanksgiving should be a continuation of a strong year for travel.
“We have seen, for most of 2016, the holiday numbers either setting new records or numbers that we haven’t seen in a number of years, which is a sign of an improving economy as well as the price of gas,” Redman said.
Nationwide, AAA predicts that 89.4 percent of travelers will travel by automobile, and 7.6 will travel by airplane.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Criss Turnipseed said highway patrol will have officers out in force to enforce traffic laws during the holiday travel period.
He said officers will be watching for speeding and distracted driving. And, while the Thanksgiving holiday isn’t as likely to produce high numbers of impaired drivers as a holiday like New Year’s or one of the summer holidays, he said officers will keep a strict watch for that, too.
With heavy road traffic expected for the holiday, Turnipseed said it’s important to be mindful of others while driving.
“Just be considerate when you’re driving,” he said. “Remember that there are other people on the road, and what you do can affect them.
“Drive for your family and your friends,” Turnipseed later added. “If you get into a wreck and get hurt or get killed, you’re not just ruining Thanksgiving for yourself. You’re ruining it for your family. You’re ruining it for your friends.”
Motorists are enjoying a second year of low gas prices for the holiday. Redman said the statewide average for gas prices is about $1.97 per gallon, which is only slightly more than last year’s average of $1.94.
“We didn’t think that we would see prices similar to last year. We weren’t expecting that this year,” Redman said.
Nationally, the price of a gallon of gas is about 12 cents higher than last year’s average of about $2.05 per gallon. Still, the price represents the second-lowest gas price average for Thanksgiving since 2008. Despite a recent uptick, gas prices have generally been lower than last year, which AAA says has saved Americans across the country more than $28 billion so far.
Redman said gas prices should stabilize and hold steady or even fall slightly for the rest of the year.
“When you look at 2012 through 2014 when the average price of gasoline in Mississippi was in excess of $3 a gallon, there’s no doubt that when you see prices under $2 a gallon, it’s a significant savings and stimulus for the family,” Redman said. “We’re starting to see people get out and move, and it really was evident this year.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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