One holiday jam is guaranteed

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Not even cheap gas will boost holiday travel

Gasoline costs much less than it did a year ago, but North Carolinians are much more likely this year to spend Labor Day at home, according to the AAA motor club.

AAA predicts that 876,000 North Carolinians will drive somewhere for the holiday weekend, down from 1.02 million in 2008. The economy and the calendar are cooling factors in the travel forecast.

Labor Day fell on the first of September last year. Fewer children were in school and more families were making summer trips than will be this year with the holiday on Sept. 7, AAA says. North Carolina's 11 percent unemployment rate also is dimming the holiday spirit.

More travel or less Labor Day travel? Both, AAA says.

Will North Carolina highways be busier this Labor Day weekend? Or less busy? The answer is: Compared to what?

AAA is saying it both ways.

Travelers can expect busier roads, fewer flights

Fewer of us are flying for the year-end holidays, but cheap gas will make highway travel a bit busier this week than it was for last year's holidays. And after an early-week cold snap, forecasters expect temperatures to rise Wednesday and remain well above freezing through the weekend, with a chance of showers on Christmas.

By car

AAA Carolinas predicts that 1.66 million North Carolinians will make a holiday trip by car, up slightly from 1.65 million last year.

Many to spend the Fourth at home

Gas is a lot cheaper than it was during Independence Day weekend last year, but times are tougher overall. So more of us plan to stay home for the holiday this year.

Fewer travelers

The AAA Carolinas motor club estimates that 945,000 North Carolinians will take road trips this weekend. That's down 3 percent from last year.

Many scale back their travel plans

Gasoline prices are still falling, but AAA Carolinas says many North Carolinians will skip the usual Labor Day weekend trip this year.

Triangle drivers were paying an average $3.608 a gallon for regular Thursday, and some Raleigh stations posted pump prices below $3.45. Even though prices have dropped from a local record high of $4.054 in mid-July, this year's Labor Day gas is the most expensive on record.

A beach drive this weekend will cost even more than it did three years ago, when Hurricane Katrina disrupted the nation's fuel supplies and made Labor Day 2005 travel extra pricey.