Increase in drivers on the roads this holiday weekend

By Ana Bottary

abottary@abc6.com

@anabottary

It’s been almost a decade since the country has seen this many people hitting the road for Thanksgiving.
 
"We are expecting almost 49 million people to be traveling nationally across the country and most of those people almost 90 percent will be traveling by cars," says John Paul, Senior Manager for Traffic Affairs at AAA.
 
One of the main reasons for the increase in drivers hitting the roads, gas prices.

"We are seeing gas prices around 2.15 a gallon so again great gas prices," adds Paul.

Traffic is expected to be worst Wednesday and Sunday. One driver we spoke with says she knows the pattern all too well and has decided to leave tomorrow.
 
"I am hoping the traffic will be a lot better than it will be today. It’s really crazy," says one holiday traveler.
 
Another driver, left on Tuesday to avoid the Wednesday back up.
 
"We’ve been doing this for a number of years and if we waited for tomorrow to come up it would have doubled the time," adds another.
 
And for those who are choosing to steer clear of the roads, 27.3 million people will fly this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That’s about 2-and-a-half percent more than last year. Some 2.5 million passengers at airports Wednesday alone.
 
"I’m looking forward to a great time down in Atlanta for the holidays. Thanksgiving’s always a great time for the family to get together and we look forward to it every year," says a holiday traveler.

(c)WLNE-TV/ABC6 2016