Hopefully you have your travel plans laid out already, because this Thanksgiving will see the most Angelenos on the road in nine years.According to a report released by the Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA SoCal) on Thursday, 3.14 million people in Southern California will hit the road to go home for crappy football games, turkey, and terrible political conversations with uncles they don't really like. This represents an uptick of 3.4 percent over last year. There will also be a slight uptick in air travelers, with a total of 389,000 people flying to their destinations for the weekend.
Because of a generally improving economy, more people are expected to get out town. "There's increased consumer confidence, increased wages, increased disposable income, and for most of this year we've been paying significantly lower gas prices since the recession of '08-'09," Marie Montgomery, a spokesperson for AAA SoCal, told LAist. "So that's put more money in our pockets."
As anyone who has driven during the week of Thanksgiving knows, the two days before Thanksgiving are the absolute worst. "If you can avoid those days and the [following] Sunday coming back into town, we do advise that you travel during off-peak periods," said Montgomery. "If you want to leave and drive at night or super-early in the morning, we'd advise getting at least five hours of sleep. Drowsy driving is as bad as drunk driving."
And of course, air travelers should expect delays despite flying above all the drivers. Security checkpoint lines will be worse than they already are, and the seasonal weather could create delays.
Safe travels, wherever it is you're going next week, LAist readers. And say hi to your mom for me.
