Photo by: Jabre Williams
One of the busiest times of the year, when more than 33 million travelers will be on the highways is during Memorial Day weekend. The American Automobile Association predicts gas prices to be the lowest they have been in five years during Memorial Day weekend.
W.D. Williams, field manager for AAA said, “Most Americans are feeling better about the economy so they feel like they have more dollars in their pocket to take a nice vacation this weekend.”
“Any time you have a weekend where you have 33 million motorists getting on the road to travel, you are going to have busy, crowded roads and that can equal dangerous road conditions,” Williams added.
Safety is AAA’s number one priority for the road this weekend, to ensure this safety they offered some key tips for travelers: make sure your car is in good shape, wear your seatbelt and make sure your eyes and attention are on the road, not your cell phone.
Lieutenant James Shaw, Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary Coordinator said, “With the large number of people traveling, law enforcement will be out and will be in full effect this weekend.”
“The key thing for this weekend is to be courteous when driving, traffic will be heavy so don’t display any road rage and allow enough space between cars on the road,” Shaw added.
AAA projected Orlando to be the number one destination for Memorial weekend.
Jane Street is traveling from Panama City to Orlando, which is rare for her this time of year.
“I don’t usually travel during Memorial Day weekend but the kids had a week off from school so we decided to go to Disney World,” Jane said.
Travelers like Jo Robertson from Alabama are being smart about this weekend by leaving earlier to avoid bad traffic.
“I try not to travel during Memorial Day weekend because of the traffic but I’m attending my granddaughters graduation in Sarasota so I’m leaving a day earlier,” Robertson said.
This holiday weekend, AAA is offering Tow to Go to both members and non-members. This is designed to remove intoxicated drivers from the roads, taking them and their car home safely. This is to help ensure safe travel for everyone.
For more information on Tow to Go visit http://autoclubsouth.aaa.com/safety/tow_to_go.aspx.