Avoiding Thanksgiving traffic just got trickier--analysts estimate that 89.5 percent of holiday travelers will opt to drive this year instead of flying.
Compared with 2013 numbers, drivers will increase by 0.1 percentage points, while people who decide to fly will fall by the same amount to 7.5 percent of holiday travelers, Bloomberg reported via IHS Inc. data.
The increase in drivers is attributed to a combination of cheaper gasoline and rising air fares; gas prices have slid to less than $3 per gallon, but tickets for domestic flights are at their highest since at least 2008.
Around 39.6 million people drove somewhere for the Thanksgiving holidays last year, meaning that the 0.1 percentage point increase puts at least 40,000 more people on the road next week.
"Ground travel is going to gain over air," said Shane Norton, director of economics and country risk at IHS, as quoted by Bloomberg. "The change toward car travel seems like a little, in terms of one-tenth of a percentage point, but you're taking from an air share of less than 10 percent."
Average gas prices around the country have remained below $3 per gallon for 17 days, the national average for regular unleaded hitting its lowest price since December 2010, according to the AAA motoring club group.
The cheapest gas nationwide can be found in South Carolina ($2.63), Mississippi ($2.66) and Tennessee ($2.66).
If you opt to drive a long distance instead of flying, keep in mind that the highway will be more crowded on some days than others.
Google Maps data recently found that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is typically the worst traffic day of the year; however, Boston sees its highest traffic on Tuesday, while Honolulu, Providence and San Francisco all count Saturday as their worst time to be on the road.
Saturday and Tuesday compete for second and third worst days for traffic, but Friday is usually clear.
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