Delawareans hitting traveling this Thanksgiving holiday will once again have plenty of company on the roads.
AAA Mid-Atlantic is predicting the busiest Thanksgiving holiday for travel since 2005.
It forecasts nearly 149,000 Delawareans will travel 50 miles or more - and 91 percent will do so by car
And Triple-A spokesman Ken Grant says, not surprisingly, Wednesday will be the worst day.
“We’re advising everybody, if they can take some time, maybe travel on a different day – whether that’s get out early and leave on Tuesday, or for shorter trips, just leave Thusday morning and make you way to your family and friends, that may be the best way to go,” said Grant.
The increased volume often brings with it accidents and disabled vehicles. AAA Mid-Atlantic says last year it helped over 1,000 First State motorists over the Thanksgiving weekend.
And Grant says AAA wants people to be aware what they can do to avoid making those situations even worse.
“There’s going to be a lot of emergency vehicles helping people out, and we’re trying to remind everybody that every state has a “slow down and move over” law – something we realize that 70 percent of people are not even aware of," said Grant "And that can save lives.”
Grant notes that an average of 23 tow operators are killed each year helping stranded drivers.
DelDOT plans to do its part to ease congestion during the Thankgiving weekend. DelDOT’s C.R. McLeod says drivers won’t face any lane closures created by road work. McLeod says all temporary lane closures will be suspended from Wed. morning at 6 am through Sunday night.
“Delaware’s obviously a critical juncture in the Northeast as people are travleing to and from their Thanksgiving destinations. We want to help people get there as quickly and safely as possible,” said McLeod.
And a reminder, public transportation options are limited on Thanksgiving Day itself. DART’s fixed route and paratransit service will not operate and SEPTA’s Wilmington/Newark Line will operate on a Sunday schedule. Regular DART service resumes Friday.
