AAA: Record-Breaking Travel Expected For July 4th
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- If your bags are packed and ready to go, be prepared for a whole lot of company as you hit the roads for the Fourth of July.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says nearly 40 million Americans will be driving 50 miles or more to their destination -- the highest number ever recorded.
"We're going to go to the Jersey Shore. I don't manage well with traffic. We will leave early and come back late and avoid all of that," one traveler said.
For some drivers, the road trip is well beyond 50 miles.
Ricardo Moran started out in Florida.
[Reporter: This is your destination?]
"No, I came here to see you and to have this interview. No I am on my way to Boston," he said.
Not only will there be more people traveling on the roadways, but AAA says this will be a record-setting holiday travel weekend for air travel and on the rails, as well.
"Penn station right now is packed. I've never really seen it this packed," Amtrak rider Doug Kroeger said.
Gas prices have dipped slightly since Memorial Day, but the reason for so many travelers hitting the road could simply boil down to the day of the week.
"With the holiday falling on a Wednesday, it sometimes will spread out the traffic in some bit of a regard because it will essentially impact two weekends," Regina Averella of AAA Mid-Atlantic said.
Because this holiday travel is spread out over six days, figuring out nonpeak hours could help to bypass the gridlock.
"Actually, today wasn't bad at all. I hit a little bit of traffic, but that was it," traveler Maria Flaherty said.
AAA says it has been keeping this type of holiday travel projections for 18 years, and this is the busiest Fourth of July they've seen.
The D.C. area was ranked in the top 10 for worst congestion as people hit the roads.
AAA says some of the top travel locations in the U.S. for this Independence Day holiday are Orlando, Seattle and Honolulu. Some of the top international destinations are in Europe.
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