Dec 20, 2013 3 min read

AAA projects 94.5 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the upcoming holidays, an increase of a half-million travelers compared to one year ago.

This expected travel volume is the highest ever recorded for the holiday season, a AAA news release said.

“This year’s holiday is one day longer,” explained AAA Senior Vice President Bevi Powell, which could account for the increase. “(It’s) a 12-day holiday instead of an 11-day. It’s a pretty well-traveled holiday, (so) you don’t see very big fluctuations.” The holiday travel season is defined by AAA as today through Jan. 1.

To predict these numbers, AAA conducts research through phone calls and reporting with different data trends. It also works with a research company called IHS Global Insight, an economic research and consulting firm.

According to the survey of intended travelers, the average distance traveled is expected to be 805 miles. This is an increase of 45 miles from last year, according to the AAA news release, when travelers logged 760 miles.

“It is the most-traveled holiday,” Powell continued, “because it is two holidays (combined) into one.”

According to Powell, there were 43.4 million travelers over the Thanksgiving holiday, 34.1 million over Labor Day and 40.8 million for the Fourth of July.

“It’s not atypical, (it’s) the way it usually plays out. A lot of people use up vacation days left over at the end.”

State police are prepared for the holiday season, according to public information officer Adam Reed,. He said there will be more police presence on the busiest travel days associated with the holiday, which would be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“Every holiday travel period, Thanksgiving into Christmas, is very busy for motorists and a very busy time for law enforcement,” Reed said. “(We) increase our patrols to keep our highways safe and to deal with increased traffic.”

To stay safe, Reed recommends motorists obey all traffic laws. “Accidents are caused when people become impatient, speed and tailgate on busy roads,” he said. “Think twice before getting behind the wheel if impaired.”

State police announced another safety plan Thursday. Along with the state Department of Transportation and the Liquor Control Board, a new, statewide campaign to promote designated driving in an effort to keep drunk drivers off the road was unveiled. Highway digital message boards, posters in participating bars and restaurants, and thousands of car window decals distributed at upcoming state police DUI checkpoints will promote The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers.