By Crystal Donaldson
BLOOMINGTON – AAA Auto Club released a new survey finding nearly 42 million Americans plan to take a Memorial Day getaway. That means five percent more people are traveling than last year.
In Illinois, 2.04 million people plan to travel, which is an increase of four percent from 2017. The most popular mode of travel is by car with 36.6 million hitting the road. Driving is followed by flying with 3.1 million people taking to the airways. Finally, 1.8 million people will take trains, buses, rails and cruise ships.
Beth Mosher with triple A said the auto club is expecting to rescue more than 340 thousand motorist throughout the weekend.
“Make sure that if you are heading out for a road trip get your car looked at before you head out,” said Mosher. “If you have a battery that’s more than three years old you might want to get it tested before you head out on the road way so that you’re not having to see us on your road trip.”
If you’re driving be aware of high gas prices and congested roads. AAA reports Memorial Day weekend will be the most expensive weekend to buy gas since 2014. The state average for gas is $2.95 a gallon which is up from $2.70 last month, and $2.39 last year.
“Gas prices are, no matter where you’re traveling unfortunately, going to be much higher than they were this time last year. We expect people, despite the high gas prices to continue to travel.”
Although, gas prices are up this year, airfare hotels and car rentals are all less expensive than the year before. Traffic is expected to be the heaviest across the country on Thursday May 24, and Friday May 25. In Illinois, Friday, May 25, between 4-6 p.m. is expected to be the worst time to travel. A normal trip is expected to take 2.1 times longer than usual.
The most popular destination this year is Orlando, Florida. Rome, Dublin and London are the most popular destinations for international travelers.
Crystal Donaldson can be reached at [email protected].
