Published on Friday, November 17, 2006
in the Charlotte Sun-Herald

Thanksgiving travelers increase, especially in the Southeast

As people make preparations to cook turkey and have all the fixings around the table on Thursday, AAA projected that 2.55 million Floridians will pack their suitcases to ensure they are also around a family's or friend's table.

"It's such an important holiday. People want to be with family and friends," said Gregg Laskoski, the managing director of public and government relations with AAA Auto Club South. "They want to spend time with family. When we look at numbers, about a quarter of travelers are from the Southeast."

AAA estimates that 38.3 million Americans nationwide -- an increase of 2.7 percent from last year -- will travel 50 or more miles during Thanksgiving. About 10.4 million of those travelers are expected to be from the Southeast.

In Florida, slightly more than 2 million people are expected to drive, and 320,000 are expected to fly.

Laskoski said the reason such a high number of travelers are from the Southeast is due to the high number of retirees who live here.

"They have a greater propensity to travel. It is easier for them to travel," he said, adding that traveling with young kids is much more difficult. "It's a very strong family tradition to get together during the holidays."

Additionally, some people are traveling during Thanksgiving rather than trying to travel with presents next month, Laskoski said. He added that the number of people traveling by car during Thanksgiving has continued to go up over the past few years.

AAA predicts the most travel on the day before Thanksgiving and on Sunday.

An additional 200 troopers throughout Florida will be patrolling the highways during those days, reported Lt. Douglas Dodson of the Florida Highway Patrol.

"Our goal is to be visible and diligent on our enforcement efforts" he said Thursday. "We lost 66 people during the Thanksgiving holiday last year."

Dodson said that about half of last year's fatal wrecks involved either unbuckled seat belts or alcohol.

"Tragically, we get to a scene and somebody dies because they don't have a seat belt on -- it could have been prevented," Dodson said.

The FHP has a program for drivers to report reckless drivers by dialing "*347."

The FHP and AAA both strongly recommend allowing plenty of time to drive to your destination.

"And to be thinking about driving, not what (you're) going to do when you get there," said Lt. Billy Rippy of the FHP.