Driving Tomorrow is Very Safe

Tis the holiday season to travel, and according to the American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates that 112.7 million people will journey by car about 50 miles away from home on this holiday.

That’s an increase of 3.6 million people over last year.

And traveling on December 25, 2022, is one of the safest driving days of the year.

Of course, another safe-driving day is December 31, 2022.

“This year, travel time will be extended due to Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on Sundays,” stated Paula Twidale, AAA’s SVP of Travel, in a related press release on December 12, 2022.

“With hybrid work schedules, we are seeing more people take long weekends to travel because they can work remotely at their destination and be more flexible with the days they depart and return.”

Travel by car this year is on par with 2018 but shy of 2019 when 108 million Americans drove out of town for the holidays, the highest year on record.

“With pre-pandemic levels of travelers hitting the road this holiday, drivers must be prepared for delays in and around major metro areas, with December 27 expected to be the nation’s worst day to travel,” commented Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX.

“Our advice is to avoid traveling during peak commuting hours."

"If schedules allow, leave bright and early or after the afternoon commute.”

Note: For purposes of this AAA forecast, the year-end holiday travel period is defined as the 11 days from Friday, December 23 to Monday, January 2. This period is the same length as the 2021/2022 year-end travel period.