If you are hitting the road this upcoming holiday weekend, you may want to give yourself some extra time and pack your patience with you.

Traffic
Flickr user: Sasha Trubetskoy
loading...

Nearly 1.2 million New Jerseyans will be taking the ride with you, which is a slight decrease of 0.4 percent from last year. That's according to a survey recently conducted by AAA Mid-Atlantic.

"Last year's holiday fell on a Wednesday which afforded people six days for the holiday compared to this year's holiday falling on a Thursday which is back to the standard five day," said Tracy Noble, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

When asked about day of departure, 46 percent of people said they plan to begin their trip prior to the start of the holiday travel period which is July 3-7. The largest share of travelers, 32 percent, will depart on July 3 and the largest share, 38 percent, will return on July 7 while 34 percent will stretch their holiday vacation into the following week.

"Independence Day is typically the busiest holiday of the summer travel season with 36% more New Jersey residents traveling than Memorial Day just two months ago. The Fourth of July benefits from the fact that all schools across the state are out of session, making it truly a time for family fun," said Noble.

"And although AAA's projection for Independence Day travel is relatively flat year over year our roadways and routes to the Jersey Shore will be congested with travelers eager to support their local communities and Restore the Shore."

Travelers will use the following modes of transportation:

Automobile

  • New Jersey - 1,043,559 (84% of travelers), a decrease of 0.3% from last year
  • Nationally - 34.4 million (84% of travelers), down 0.7% from 2012

Air

  • New Jersey - 93,931 (7.5% of travelers), an increase of 0.6% from those who flew in 2012
  • Nationally - 3.07 million (7% of travelers), an increase of 0.2% from last Fourth of July

Train, Bus, Watercraft or Other Mode

  • New Jersey - 108,251 (8.7% of travelers), a decrease of 2.9% from 2012
  • Nationally - 3.3 million (8% of travelers), down 3.3% from last year

Gas prices are about ten cents higher than they were last year and that will likely keep people within 50 miles from home. The average price of gasoline is at $3.38 per gallon in New Jersey, $3.73 in New York, $3.50 in Pennsylvania and $3.48 in Delaware.

"About 57 percent of those traveling will be staying with friends or relatives which affords them a free room so to speak," said Noble. "As for other activities, many are planning to go out to eat, shop, tour, go sightseeing and visit beaches and national and state parks."

 

 

 

 

More From 94.3 The Point