AAA predicts traffic will “be a doozy!”
The American Automobile Association (AAA) – long known for its accuracy in predicting holiday traffic volumes – has projected a 7% increase in travel volumes for the upcoming holiday weekend compared to last year. The majority of Americans traveling over Memorial Day weekend will drive. Just think of it: 37.1 million holiday drivers on the road, competing with ICSA members and other truckers and clogging up traffic everywhere, but most definitely in major metro areas like Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Tampa and other large cities.
AAA also projects that travel times will double in those areas compared to normal traffic flows. Even worse, experience shows that far too many of these drivers will have been drinking, making for even more dangerous driving conditions. So when should you plan to be on the road to avoid traffic jams?
Traffic planners say the heaviest holiday-weekend road traffic is expected on Friday, May 26 between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. But the afternoons of Thursday, May 25; Monday, May 29; and Tuesday, May 30 are also going to be high volume, with plenty of potential for congestion and traffic snarls. The best days to travel – whether in a car or driving a truck with a delivery deadline – are Saturday and Sunday.
Lastly, National Safety Council statistics show that the average number of highway deaths over the past six Memorial Day weekends was 398 – a number that would likely have been higher had it not been for reduced travel during the pandemic years. Predictions are running as high as 450 deaths this holiday. Make sure you and/or your drivers aren’t among them. Stay safe out there.
Every year, TAT (formerly called Truckers Against Trafficking) honors a member of the trucking, bus or energy industry, whose direct actions help save or improve the lives of those exploited or prevent human trafficking from taking place, with the Harriet Tubman Award
Bob Costello has indicated that the freight market has improved – but very slowly – since January. It must be said that ATA’s indices are dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot rates.
Now, however, with Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House (and, some say, the Supreme Court) I am optimistic that trucking will get a fairer shake than it has during Biden’s term in office.