Share Email Print RSS

Thanksgiving Travel

Travel volumes this Thanksgiving are expected to exceed pre-9/11 levels for the first time, as an estimated 37.2 million Americans, including over one million Virginians, will travel at least 50 miles from home. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic , those estimates represent more than a 3 percent increase over travel volumes last year.

“Travelers’ increased confidence in both the economy and airline security will make this an extremely busy travel holiday,” AAA spokeswoman Martha Rowe Mitchell said in a released statement.

2004 Thanksgiving travel numbers are expected to surpass those from 2000, the year in which the travel industry experienced its highest volume.

This year, as in year’s past, the majority of Thanksgiving travel will be over roads and highways. Roughly 82 percent of holiday travelers will go by automobile, with an estimated 800,000 more drivers expected to take to the roads over last year. Almost 900,000 Virginians will be driving this Thanksgiving, and to prepare for the heavy volume, the Virginia Department of Transportation will be opening lanes that have been temporarily closed for construction or maintenance work on many major roadways. In general, those lanes will clear from noon on Wednesday through Thanksgiving Day. Construction is some areas of the state will resume on Friday.

VDOT officials are urging holiday motorists to obey posted speed limits and to pay attention to orange signs in work zones. With heavy rain expected for Wednesday, VDOT spokeswoman Tamara Neal says that motorists will need to take extra precautions.

“Our main message with wet pavement is to please drive cautiously,” said Neal. “Pay attention to speed limits and warnings that are posted.”

“During rainy conditions, it is critical that motorists slow down and use their headlights so that they can see and be seen,” said Mitchell.

AAA suggests that drivers adhere to the following wet-weather driving tips:

• Turn on windshield wipers and headlights as soon as rain begins to fall. It’s not just common sense, it’s the law in numerous states including Virginia.

• Do not attempt to cross any standing or moving water that looks more than a few inches deep. It doesn’t take much water to cause a car’s engine to stall and leave you stranded.

• Try to avoid bridges and roads that are known to flood. If the roadway has been flooded, take a detour – floodwaters can be deceptively deep and strong.

• Drivers of four-wheel drive vehicles must remember that they are not immune from hydroplaning on wet surfaces. SUVs are just as likely to lose traction as any other vehicle.

• Slow down. Speed limits are set for ideal road conditions. Rain decreases visibility and increases stopping distances.

• Increase following distances. Normal dry pavement following distances (2-3 seconds) should be increased to 8 seconds when driving on slippery surfaces.

AAA also recommends that motorists perform a thorough check of their vehicle before traveling, including checking oil, antifreeze/coolant, transmission fluid, and brake fluid levels, as well as making sure their tires are adequately inflated and that any spare tires are in good condition.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Virginia Department of State Police troopers will join local law enforcement officers, who will be out in force over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. They will pay special attention to roadways that statistically yield the most collisions and fatalities and will concentrate manpower on Wednesday and Sunday, typically the year’s busiest travel days.

“Thanksgiving is a traditional family holiday, which always means major travel congestion along the highways,” Virginia State Police Captain Robert G. Kemler, Division Commander for Richmond. “The increased congestion, mixed with the long weekend, typically increases the number of highway incidents.”

In addition to individual motorists, Virginia’s highways this Thanksgiving will include a significant number of passenger bus lines. According to Greyhound Bus spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee, Richmond is Greyhound’s sixth busiest terminal. Nationwide last year, Greyhound buses carried over 700,000 passengers during the last 10 days of November. While preliminary estimates were not available, officials are predicting similar travel volumes for bus passengers this year, with the potential for a slight increase.

Another mode of ground transportation likely to see heavy volume over the Thanksgiving holiday is rail. Amtrak expects to serve nearly 600,000 passengers nationwide. With ridership expected to be 80 percent higher than a typical Wednesday, as many as 125,000 passengers will travel on Nov. 24, making it the busiest travel day of the year.

Amtrak is requiring reservations on the majority of its trains operating in the Northeast, and to meet demand, Amtrak will add nearly 60 trains to its national schedule. It will also increase capacity by adding cars to trains throughout the week.

The airline industry expects the largest percentage increase in volume this year over recent years. AAA estimates that 4.6 million Americans will travel by plane, up 4 percent from last year. Richmond International Airport spokesman Troy Bell said he would expect would expect RIC to match if not be slightly ahead of travel volume from a year ago.

"Our best indicator is what’s happening with parking," said Bell. "We're seeing that go up a couple of percentage points recently, so our numbers would seem to reflect the general increase."