With the holiday weekend arriving, roads are expected to see heavy traffic on Friday as people make their way to their Fourth of July destinations.
Travel company AAA has predicted that road traffic on this year's holiday weekend will smash records, with more than 43 million people expected to drive their car to their destination. That's an increase of 2.4% compared to 2022, and 4% higher than 2019.
One factor fueling this drive are lower gas prices compared to a year ago. AAA reports that the national average for a gallon of regular was $4.80 at this time last year. That price is now about $3.50.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Meanwhile, if you opt to leave on Saturday to avoid the Friday rush on the roads, experts say to leave the house before noon.
“We’ve never projected travel numbers this high for Independence Day weekend,” Mary Maguire, Vice President of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Northeast said in a news release earlier this week. “More than 1.4 million Massachusetts residents will be among those traveling, 1.2 million of us by car. Both mirror the national trends and are higher than the number of travelers and drivers from a year ago.”
AAA reports that demand for travel has been on the rise since 2020.
