STATEWIDE — With Thanksgiving comes seeing family, eating turkey and traveling. While AAA is predicting fewer Americans will be traveling this holiday, they are still advising drivers to be cautious while on the roads.
“Evaluate everything from your belts, your hoses, the heart of your vehicle which is the electrical system and the battery, and the tires,” said Pat Moody, manager of public affairs at AAA of Northern New England.
“Tires are so important this time of year,” he said.
Compared to last year, Moody said the pandemic is expected to decrease the amount of New Englanders traveling by more than 9 percent.
He added that’s the largest decline since the 2008 recession, which caused a 28-percent drop in Thanksgiving travel.
However, 95 percent of people that do choose to travel will do so by driving. That’s compared to 86 percent in 2019.
“Just due to that fact that you can control that environment we’re seeing that 95, so an additional 5 percent of travelers are going to be going by automobile,” Moody said.
According to Moody, it’s projected that just over two million New Englanders will be traveling. However, new restrictions and rising COVID-19 cases will impact that number.
If you are traveling, Moody said to remember these few suggestions.
“It’s important to plan ahead. Try to avoid stopping along the way as much as possible. But you also need to plan ahead for those busier sections,” Moody said. “So try to avoid those peak driving times so you can have less stress out there on the road.”
On a positive note, Moody said gasoline prices are about 50 cents less than this time last year.
