COLUMBUS, Ohio – More Ohioans will be hitting the roads during the 12-day Christmas holiday travel season that began Saturday and continues through Jan. 1, according to the AAA.
The auto club estimates more than 3.23 million Ohioans will travel at least 50 miles from home by road, up slightly from last year.
AAA projects a total of 94.5 million Americans — including more than 3.5 million Ohioans — will travel by land or air, an increase of 0.6 percent from last year.
Travel during this holiday season has increased with economic improvements in recent years.
The year-end holiday travel period is the most traveled holiday period, mainly because it’s typically the longest. It is also the one least likely to be affected by the economy as people will travel at Christmas despite economic pressures that might keep them closer to home at other times of the year.
However, AAA officials year-end holiday travel numbers did experience a decline when the recession hit, to 85.7 million travelers in 2008 and 2009. That included fewer than 3.3 million Ohioans, AAA Ohio officials say.
Year-end travel numbers have gradually improved with the economy over the past few years. Nationally, this year’s numbers mark the fifth straight annual increase and will be the highest in the past decade, with nearly 30 percent of all Americans traveling this holiday.
Volume on the road will be aided by average gas prices that are expected to remain lower during the holidays than they were a year ago.
Ohio’s highways are also on pace to be the safest they have ever been. The State Highway Patrol says at least 923 people have died on Ohio roads in 2013. Two dozen more deaths are considered unverified traffic fatalities under review.