Heavy traffic and delays are expected this weekend as friends and family pack up and hit the road for holiday vacations.
With less than two weeks left in 2019, the motor vehicle death toll in Delaware stands at 128, and this weekend, AAA MidAtlantic is expecting record-breaking travel-volume for the year-end holidays.
Steady gas prices are expected to be a motivator for holiday travelers to drive to their destinations this year.
AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Public and Government Affairs Manager, Ken Grant, is encouraging drivers to allocate extra time to travel and to avoid dangerous driving habits.
“In addition to packing everything that you need for that trip, including an emergency kit, we always advise people to pack your patience.”
Despite an abundance of hands-free technology in new motor vehicles, Grant says that driving “intexticated” remains an issue in society.
“People assume that if they’re behind a brand new car that they just purchased and they’re getting used to all this great technology, that they can focus their attention a little less on the driving at hand, and be able to spend time texting, reading, I mean, we’re hearing horror stories of people actually thinking that their car can drive itself and so they take a nap.”
AAA’s ‘Don’t Drive Intoxicated – Don’t Drive Intexticated’ campaign launched in April of this year, and they’re promoting it now more than ever, encouraging non-drivers to participate as well.
“If you know that your colleagues, your family members, your friends, are on the road driving, don’t even try to text them. Don’t try to contact them. Let them get where they’re going safely and wait until you know they’re no longer behind the wheel of a car in order to reach out to them.”
For more information and travel tips, you can visit AAA.com.