WASHINGTON — Each year, holiday travelers try and outsmart other drivers to time their getaways to miss traffic. But as more people are expected to leave home for the holidays this year, there are more variables to with which to contend.
As drivers plan their holiday getaways, they’ll have more company than ever before.
“Altogether 2.6 million people in the Washington area will travel 50 miles or more from home for Christmas,” said John Townsend with AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The majority, 2.4 million, will be piling in the car, according to traveling projections.
“That’s 91 percent of all residents in the area who are traveling,” Townsend said.
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The worst time to leave is Thursday, Dec. 21, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to Townsend. Traffic during that time period is projected to be 2.5 times heavier than the average for that time, he added, based on projections from INRIX and AAA.
But Bob Marbourg, in the WTOP Traffic Center, contends that it’s more complex than just avoiding a window of time. He said that drivers should consider the weather at their destination and the many stops most drivers need to make before “they can take off cross-country in a one-horse open sleigh.”
In addition to those hitting the roads from the D.C. area, AAA said 2,721,384 Virginia residents will be on the roads in the Commonwealth and 2,074, 543 Marylanders will drive on state roads.
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