Approximately 119.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home between tomorrow, December 21, and Wednesday, January 1, according to an American Automobile Association (AAA) forecast prepared in cooperation with INRIX. “This year’s domestic travel projection narrowly surpasses the previous record set in 2019 by 64,000 travelers. AAA expects an additional 3 million travelers this holiday season compared to last year.” The vast majority of trips — nearly 90 percent — will be taken by car. A predicted 107 million person-trips is more than last year, but just shy of the pre-pandemic record of 108 million.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced it is preparing to handle a volume of nearly 6.5 million vehicles over the holidays. The West Virginia Turnpike expects to process 1.48 million transactions during the holiday period, which it measures as 14 days. “AAA expects a total of 4.9 million Ohioans to travel, which they say is 2.9% higher than last year’s numbers and sets an overall record even including pre-pandemic data,” Ohio DOT announced. The majority of Ohio residents taking trips — 4.47 million people — will drive.
As Newsweek and Los Angeles Times report, weather conditions in several parts of the country could make travel difficult.