Our View: Don’t be a travel turkey this Turkey Day

If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving to be with family or other loved ones, you’ll be far from the only turkey on the road or in the air.

An expected 79.9 million travelers will trek 50 miles or more from home to celebrate the holiday, according to

AAA’s annual forecast

. The American Automobile Association has been tracking Turkey Day traffic since 2000. This year’s estimate is 1.7 million travelers more than a year ago, a 2.1% increase, and 2 million more than in 2019, the holiday season before the pandemic emptied our highways and skyways.

Clearly, travel has bounced back from COVID’s darkest days. Gobble on!

“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement this week. “Americans reconnect with family and friends over Thanksgiving, and travel is a big part of that. AAA continues to see travel demand soar post-pandemic with our members looking for new adventures and memorable vacations.”

Most Thanksgiving travelers this year — nearly 90% of them, according to AAA — will be going by car. That means over 1 million more revelers on our roads compared to 2023, a 1.9% increase.

The good news for all of them:

Gas prices

are down. The national average last Thanksgiving was $3.26. Thanks to falling oil prices this fall, the national average could dip below $3 a gallon in many parts of the country this year, which would be a first since 2021, AAA reported. If you’re heading east, gas is expected to be between $2.25 and $2.50 a gallon in more than a dozen states that way. Not that gas prices have ever mattered much when deciding whether to go or not go for this holiday devoted to family, parades, football, food, and napping in recliners.

“Higher gas prices don’t seem to be enough to (completely) stop people from traveling to be with family and friends,” AAA spokeswoman Meredith Mitts said in a statement just ahead of Thanksgiving 2022. “We’ve found that when gas prices are high, travelers look to offset the added cost by spending less on a hotel, shopping or dining out.”

The best time to hit the road ahead of Thursday’s holiday?

INRIX

, a provider of transportation data and insights, says Thanksgiving Day itself will have the emptiest interstates and highways. It also advised drivers returning home on Sunday to leave early in the morning, and those coming back Monday to be ready for a heavy mix of travelers and work commuters.

The worst time to travel by car this holiday? That’d be the afternoons on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The skies are forecast to also be crowded this Thanksgiving. AAA projects 5.84 million people will fly domestically, an increase of 2% compared to last year, a nearly 11% increase over 2019, and a new record high. According to booking data, air travelers are paying 3% more for domestic Thanksgiving flights this year. The cost to fly internationally is down 5%.

No matter how you’re planning to reach your destination, here are some tips and advice, both from AAA and FEMA:

• Ensure you have an emergency supply kit in your car. If going by air or train, carry a kit with you with things in it like a flashlight, batteries, and charger cord.
• Practice smart cooking: Stay in the kitchen when anything is on the stove or on a hot plate. Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so they don’t get bumped.
• If you get an early start on Christmas decorating this weekend, do so with care. Nearly half of holiday-decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source. Water your Christmas tree every day.
• If driving, be sure your vehicle is in good working order. AAA expects hundreds of thousands of motorists in need of roadside assistance over Thanksgiving holiday weekends, many for dead batteries, flat tires, or lockouts. Move over for tow trucks, emergency responders, or disabled vehicles you encounter on the shoulders of highways.
• And if you’re flying, check in early, two to three hours ahead of your scheduled departure. Pack medications and an extra set of clothes in your carry-on bag in case your flight is delayed or canceled. And consider purchasing travel insurance to protect yourself financially from delays and cancellations.

Bottom line if you’re traveling for Turkey Day this year — and a lot of us turkeys are: Do it smart. Do it safely. Pee before you go.

And then, sure, have that extra piece of pumpkin pie.

“Our View” editorials in the News Tribune are the opinion of the newspaper as determined by its Editorial Board. Current board members are Publisher Neal Ronquist, Editorial Page Editor Chuck Frederick, and Employee Representative Kris Vereecken.