Record Thanksgiving gas prices this year, but more Americans traveling
According to GasBuddy, gas is nearly 30 cents higher than it was last year
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Eric Peele is headed to the beach and got stuck in traffic at around 5 p.m.
“Most of the lights have been pretty packed,” said Peele. “I could have left at a better time, but I had a lot of other stuff I had to do before I could head down to see some family
GasBuddy said 23% of people who responded to a Thanksgiving survey said they’ll spend one to three hours in the car, compared to 2021, when most indicated they’d travel less than an hour away.
"We're seeing improvements in the last few weeks, because demand for gasoline is falling," said spokesperson Patrick De Hann. "And there are also concerns about the overall state of the economy -- that demand could fall as the economy slows down."
De Hann said, although prices are high, they are lower than months earlier.
"I think motorists across Raleigh and North Carolina are going to see more stations lowering their prices under $3 a gallon," he predicted.
NC has some of the cheapest gas in the country, ranking No. 12. Average prices in South Carolina and Georgia are even cheaper.
Staying safe on the road
According to AAA, during the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday in North Carolina there were 173 collisions and four fatalities.
Of those crashes, 17% were a direct result of alcohol.
AAA said the day before Thanksgiving is one of the days where people consume the most alcohol and see the highest number of impaired drivers.
The best time to travel
Planning to hit the road for Thanksgiving?
Travel volume is expected to be busiest on the nation's highways on Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on Friday between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
To clear up space on the highways The Department of Transportation has temporarily paused construction activity along major highways until November 28.
GasBuddy offers the following tips to help drivers save time and money:
- Shop around for the best gas prices. The first gas station you see isn’t always the cheapest and driving a few extra blocks can save drivers upwards of 30 cents per gallon.
- Avoid aggressive driving habits like speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking.
- Turn off your car if it is sitting idle for more than 60 seconds.
- Before crossing into another state, see if that state's gas prices are significantly higher or lower.
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