This year’s four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend reflects a steady increase of Californians projected to travel since 2009, according to the latest travel survey from AAA.
Advertisement
According to The American Automobile Association, motorists are saving about $11 a tank compared to past year, thanks to lower gas prices. The Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area’s prices still hover above the national average, but at about $2.30 a gallon as of Tuesday, gas is exactly one dollar cheaper per gallon than the prices during Thanksgiving 2014.
The statewide average price of gas Tuesday was $2.06 per gallon of regular, down 6 cents in a week and 68 cents less than a year ago. In the Inland Empire, the price over last weekend was $2.78 per gallon.
The recent 5 percent decline in gas prices came as oil refiners and gas wholesalers and retailers passed along lower oil-buying prices to consumers, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg in an email.
Diesel prices also are steadily dropping in Bellingham, according to AAA Washington.
In the panel of cities in the lower 48 states, the low average was in Indianapolis at $1.79 and the high average was in Los Angeles at $2.76 a gallon.
“Approximately 42 million Americans are expected to take a road trip this Thanksgiving, and drivers should pay the lowest pump prices for the Thanksgiving holiday since 2008”.
“Fact is, nine deaths and more than 1,000 injuries daily are related to texting while driving in the USA”, said Christopher Hopkins, a Clemson marketing professor who uncovered those stats when researching public information campaigns.
And, with TSA workers doing stricter screenings in light of the worldwide travel alert issued by the State Department earlier this week, officials say there are steps travelers can take to make security screenings go more smoothly.
This news follows AAA Travel’s predictions that 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday.
That’s slightly more than 89% of travelers overall. “You certainly don’t want to get caught in a long line and risk missing a flight, so prepare yourself to listen to some Muzak renditions of Barry Manilow this week”.
“This effort marks the beginning of an end-of-the-year push to keep traffic fatalities at record-low levels”, the news release stated.
Consumers are better positioned to capitalize on cheaper gas than they were during the recession, Green said.
Advertisement
That other Thanksgiving tradition – congested highways and jammed airports – is getting underway with gas prices low and terrorism fears high. That’s up six percent from past year, they said. He said security screeners at Heathrow airport in London pulled aside his carry-on to remove a 8-10 ounce bottle of facewash that screeners in San Francisco didn’t seem concerned about. Auto rental rates will average $60 for the holiday weekend, up eight percent from past year.
