COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s that time of year where holiday travel can be stressful.

What You Need To Know

  • AAA is expecting this Thanksgiving to be the third busiest travel period since 2000

  • AAA is expecting a 2% increase in travel from 2022

  • Vehicle related accidents and roadside emergencies increase during holiday travel 

Thanksgiving to be the third busiest holiday travel period since 2000 and that preparation is key. 

“It’s going to be a busy one out there. Lots of people on the road. Take your time. Be kind to your fellow drivers and know you are going to be running into a lot of traffic out there. Everybody needs to get to where they’re going, so have fun and be careful,” said AAA spokesperson Bill Purpura. 

AAA, expecting over 55 million Americans, will travel over the Thanksgiving holiday period. An increase of over 2% compared to 2022. Purpura tells us why we are seeing such a jump.

“We’re seeing these big numbers coming back. There’s a couple of things going on. One is the job market is looking pretty good. The other thing is that we believe at AAA that there’s still this hold over from COVID in 2020. People still have this pinned up demand to travel,” said Purpura.

Because of the increase in travelers on the road, law enforcement is giving advice on the importance of being responsible behind the wheel during the busy holiday season. 

“We’re not saying don’t have a good time. We’re saying have a good time, but have it responsibly. Have a plan in place, have designated driver. We don’t want these good memories, these good times are about to happen this week during Thanksgiving to end in tragedy and affect family and friends,” said Sgt. Ryan Purpura with Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Along with driving related accidents, there are also roadside emergencies that increase during this time of year.

“AAA will see a big jump in numbers for emergency road service calls. So we’re prepping for all of that. We do that on all of the holidays. Simply because of the volume of travel,” said Purpura. 

AAA also advises to stay safe during this busy travel period by being a defensive driver. Make sure you leave a good amount of space between the car in front of you. And if there’s inclement weather, reduce your speed and add even more space between the car in front of you so that everyone gets to their destinations safely.