LEBEC, Calif. (KERO) — If you're hitting the road for Christmas, expect some traffic. Triple-A predicts this year in southern California more than 8 million drivers will be traveling this holiday season. There may be no place like home for the holidays, but getting there can be quite a different story.
Doug Shupe with Triple-A says this year's travel will be just one percent behind pre-pandemic levels.
"We're anticipating that this is gonna be the second busiest year end holiday travel volume on record from yesterday through January 2," said Shupe.
With that level of traffic volume comes additional precautions to take and safety tips to keep in mind.
The 2022 holiday travel period lasts 11 days, from December 23 to January 2. This means traffic is a bit more spread out this year, especially due to the Christmas and New Year's holidays falling on weekends.
For travelers headed out of state, Triple-A has compiled a list of average gas prices by state so people can budget for their trip more effectively.
Triple-A also says that hybrid and work-from-home schedules allow people to travel earlier and stay at their destination longer because they can return to work remotely, even if they're still away from home.
However, people should avoid checking those emails while they're driving.
"Of course don't drive intoxicated, and don't drive 'intexticated'," said Shupe. "Those smartphones can be just as deadly as getting behind the wheel when you're impaired."
According to some holiday travelers, there isn't much congestion on the roads yet.
"Eh. A little annoying, but not bad. Not bad. Less than I expected, honestly," said Randy Metzlar, who is heading from Lodi to Rancho Cucamonga.
"On a scale of one to ten, it's about a nine," said Raymond Graff, who is coming from Arizona to visit San Mateo.
While traveling by car is the most common way people are getting around the country this year, those flying may be dealing with delays due to the winter storms currently happening across the country. Reports conflict, but somewhere between 2,500 and 5,000 U.S. domestic flights scheduled for the next few days have already been canceled.
If you're wondering whether your flight is one of the ones being canceled, downloading the airline's mobile app can make it easier to keep track of your flight itinerary and to reschedule a flight if yours gets canceled.
For drivers, it's recommended to leave earlier rather than later, and especially not during the 3:00 to 6:00 pm after-work road congestion.
Officer Adrian Garcia with the California Highway Patrol says drivers can keep track of construction zones, road closures, and other traffic delays, by having a passenger check that information on a smartphone at the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.
"We asked the public not to call the local offices. We do get inundated with phone calls about the weather, the traffic conditions, and if it's after office hours, you might not get anybody to answer," said Garcia. "I am trying to educate people and let them know how to try to use your smartphone for those reasons."
Garcia says that while it looks like enough people started their trips early this year that a lot of holiday traffic has already happened, roads being more open leads to risks of its own.
"What causes most of our crashes are speed," Garcia said. "Speed is a number one." Remember, your family and friends would rather see you an hour late than never again.
If you are traveling this holiday season, stay connected to 23ABC online for weather forecasts, gas prices, and other travel tips.
Happy holidays, and please drive carefully.
