I Do Not Like Mondays

Though it was largely a product of us traveling completely different roads, this year we had a much easier time of holiday travel on American highways over Christmastime vs. what we faced on Thanksgiving.

But we still experienced the usual, typical dangers on the road. Like if I’m driving along at just under 80 mph in a 65-mph zone, which isn’t lumbering along by any means, and I’ve got vehicles zipping past me like I’m absolutely standing still, there’s a problem.

Most of it is just speed and reckless driving, with drivers weaving in and out of traffic like they’re on a race track. Tailing tightly/ following too close is another big one. And of course, there’s the upcoming road construction situation where, let’s say, the right lane is closed down, and you get a whole train of vehicles zipping up the right lane to try to skeeze into the front of the traffic line right at the construction bottleneck, creating merging mayhem.  

And inevitably, there were also the wrecks — with ambulances, paramedics, police and traffic backups. Driving like I described above just ends up causing injuries and costing lives. It’s the simple truth. But as I said, by and large during our travels, things were mostly less aggressive and safer out there on the roads until the very end of our trip, which is where the densest traffic is.

According to the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) predictions for this year’s travel by car, one of the worst times to hit the road was Saturday, Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Makes sense. Things were to simmer down after that, and then Tuesday, Dec. 26 and Wednesday, Dec. 27 also were expected to be bad after 1 p.m. through their respective afternoons. Some congested travel times were expected through the rest of the week, though not as severe. Interestingly, road travel for New Year’s on Sunday, Dec. 31 and Monday, Jan. 1 is expected to be pretty clear and benign.

Overall, holiday travel by car and airplane was predicted to be near pre-pandemic levels, which is generally a good thing for the economy as things continue to return to “normal” or unaffected amounts.

Looking at airports and hotels, nearly half of Americans — across all generations — planned to travel for the 2023 holiday season taken as a whole, finds a survey by Deloitte. And they’re going to see more than just family members, with many also traveling to see friends and subsequently planning trips for the upcoming year. With so many traveling by the skies, it only follows that numbers would be up similarly on the roadways.

It’s a good time to remember to be safe! With so many more people on the roads and traveling otherwise, a little patience goes a long way. Take it all easy and in stride — don’t get aggressive — and we can all go home in one piece.

Peace.

Content © Aaron G. Marsh