Let the holiday travel begin.
Traffic is picking up for Christmas, both on the ground and in the air. Kansas AAA Public and Government Affairs Manager Shawn Steward expects over 122 million people will travel at least 50 miles between now and New Year’s Day — and yes, that’s another national record for the travel period. In Kansas, the projected number of travelers is 1.25 million people, and as usual, most will be driving. Steward says the period through Tuesday will likely be among the busiest travel days leading up to Christmas.
A lot of people will return the weekend after Christmas, while there could be another spike in traffic the weekend after New Year’s Day.
Most people will be driving, but airports will be busy after the Transportation Safety Administration had record numbers of screening interactions for the Thanksgiving period.
All told, travel will be up 1 percent from last year just in Kansas, with air traffic up 4 percent and other forms of travel — trains, buses and cruises — up almost 9.5 percent.
Steward says AAA’s roadside assistance program is ready to help, although the weather likely won’t provide any travel problems with highs in the 60s and 70s this week, including mid-70s now in the forecast for Christmas. Last year, AAA responded to over 860,000 emergency service calls nationwide for the end-of-year travel period.
The increased holiday travel comes during Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety recently issued a report that indicates Americans support a range of measures that could reduce traffic deaths at a time when distracted driving continues to cause problems. The annual Traffic Safety Culture Index says two-thirds of respondents support new cars being required to include alcohol-impairment prevention technology and just over half support reducing the blood alcohol content standard from 0.08 percent to 0.05. At the same time, 7 percent of respondents say they drove after drinking in the past 30 days, while 6 percent reported doing likewise with marijuana. And 28 percent texted, 37 percent read messages and 36 percent talked on a hand-held phone while driving.
Federal officials estimate more 39,000 people were killed in traffic crashes last year.
