Traveling for Memorial Day? These are the best and worst times for traffic, AAA says
Millions are expected to hit the road this Memorial Day weekend, and that could lead to congested roads.
So if you’re trying to beat traffic, when should you leave your house?
Here’s what AAA says about the best and worst times for avoiding gridlock on the road this holiday weekend.
When can you avoid traffic?
As people prepare for Memorial Day road trips, AAA shared data from analytics company INRIX.
“Drivers should expect congestion on major roadways around big cities and popular destinations,” Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at INRIX, said May 17 in a news release. “Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic.”
The best times to avoid traffic:
- Thursday, May 26: Before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Friday, May 27: Before 7 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Saturday, May 28: Before 10 a.m.
- Sunday, May 29: Before 10 a.m.
- Monday, May 30: Before 11 a.m.
When could you run into traffic?
If you don’t plan to venture out during those times, you could run into congestion in the afternoons. Here are the periods when analysts predict traffic will hit peak levels:
Overall, experts say May 26 and May 27 will be the heaviest days for traffic.
Also, if you plan to be in the nation’s busiest metro areas, estimates show it could take you twice as long to drive through. Times to avoid are listed online.
The forecast was released as some places are seeing rises in COVID-19 case metrics and gas prices.
Despite the costs to fill up, AAA predicts that roads could be busy. It estimates that 34.9 million people will take road trips this Memorial Day weekend, making cars the most popular form of travel.
Millions of others are expected to take planes, buses, trains and cruises as several parts of the United States relax coronavirus-related restrictions.
“Memorial Day is always a good predictor of what’s to come for summer travel,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in the news release. “Based on our projections, summer travel isn’t just heating up, it will be on fire. People are overdue for a vacation and they are looking to catch up on some much-needed R&R in the coming months.”
To come up with the number of people that could be on the road, AAA said it worked with IHS Markit to study economic and travel trends.
For the peak travel time data, INRIX told McClatchy News in an email that it studied “millions of anonymous GPS data points from vehicles and phones, specifically 2022 travel habits and holiday driving trends over the last 5 years.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Traveling for Memorial Day? These are the best and worst times for traffic, AAA says."
