PITTSBURGH — If you are traveling for Thanksgiving, AAA expects the road to be on the clearer side with fewer cars and less traffic due to the pandemic.
“As we get closer and things start to unfold, if it gets worse that could change. If it gets better, that could change,” AAA spokesman Jim Garrity said.
The agency’s report said it is expecting a 10% decrease in travel this year. AAA said this is the biggest one-year decrease in travel it has seen since the Great Recession in 2008. AAA said it expects 8% fewer cars on the road compared to last year.
Air travel is expected to drop by almost 49% from last year and other forms of travel like taking a bus or a train are predicted to fall by 77%. However, the agency said with COVID-19 case counts changing daily, the projections could also change drastically.
Garrity said health and economic concerns were pushing more people to choose driving over other methods of travel.
“Make sure you know on the way where you’re going to be stopping. Try to minimize these stops if you can and make sure you pack extra hand sanitizer and extra masks, and just be prepared to socially distance wherever it is that you go,” Garrity said.
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