Congestion Not The Only Problem For Thanksgiving Travelers

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, it's a good time to think about not only your travel time but also what's going to be going on on local roads. A new study suggests that congestion is not the only issue for the 49 million Americans who AAA predicts will take to the roads for Thanksgiving 2019.

The researchers at Cambridge Mobile Telematics conclude that Thanksgiving Day is the most dangerous day of the holiday week to drive, with nearly half of trips taken involving speeding, and more than a third involving distracted driving.

So whether you're staying close to home, driving , or driving through some of the nation's largest metropolitan areas, give yourself enough time.

CMT analyzed nearly 5.8 million drives (trips taken) in the country to uncover the most congested and dangerous cities over Thanksgiving week, as well as the best days to travel. Based on data analyzed from Nov. 19 - 26, 2018, CMT found that Wednesday is the most congested day to travel, while Thursday is the most dangerous, with nearly half (46 percent) of drives involving speeding and 38 percent involving distraction.

Their additional findings included:

• Get a head start on your drive and the meal by leaving Tuesday, when, combined, distraction and speeding on the roads are at their lowest.
• Thursday is the most dangerous day to drive due to high levels of distraction and speeding. Drivers should stay alert in Memphis, New Orleans, Nashville, Arlington (Texas), Kansas City (Missouri), Charlotte, Houston, Miami, D.C. and Fort Worth (Texas) as these are the most distracted cities for travel during Thanksgiving week.
• Escape with the leftovers on Sunday, when distraction is at its lowest.

AAA Travel issued its annual prediction for the holiday on Thursday, saying that more than 55 million travelers are making plans to kick off the holiday season with a trip of 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving. Most — 49.3 million — will drive to their destinations.

AAA said INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, expects trips will take as much at four times longer than normal in major metro areas on Wednesday afternoon. Between 5:15 and 7:15 p.m. Nov. 27, they said, expect travel to take 3.5 times as long around New York City.

“With record levels of travelers, and persistent population growth in the country’s major metropolitan areas, drivers must prepare for major delays,” said Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at INRIX. “Although travel times will peak on Wednesday afternoon nationally, travelers should expect much heavier than normal congestion throughout the week.”