COLUMBUS – Many Americans have gotten the jump on Thanksgiving, already taking to the roads and by air to reach their holiday destinations.
Two million Ohioans are expected to be among the 47 million Americans who will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the most for a Thanksgiving holiday since before the recession, according to the auto club AAA.
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The travel has been encouraged by a dramatic decrease in gas prices, to their lowest levels at this time of year since 2008.
“Low gas prices continue to save Americans an estimated $265 million each day compared to last year and that’s really helped to boost disposable income and enable more people to travel,” AAA Ohio spokeswoman Kim Schwind said.
Despite a 10-cent-a-gallon spike overnight, the AAA says the average price for regular gasoline in Columbus Wednesday morning was $1.85 a gallon, lowest in Ohio and 96 cents cheaper than the price at Thanksgiving in 2014.
Columbus boasts the least expensive gasoline in Ohio and Ohio’s gas is cheaper than any of the neighboring states where motorists are paying as much as $2.29 a gallon in Pennsylvania.
Get real-time traffic information from the Ohio Dept. of Transportation
After declining for most of the past decade, the number of traffic deaths spiked 8 percent in the first half of this year the US and Ohio has also seen an increase. There traffic fatalities in Ohio this year are up approximately 15 percent, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Twenty-three people were killed in 20 fatal crashes on Ohio roads last year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend period. Seven of those fatalities, or 30 percent, resulted from impaired drivers, according to the patrol’s records.
The patrol, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Nationwide Insurance launched the 29th annual “Tie One On For Safety” campaign on Nov. 17. Participants tie red ribbons to their vehicle antenna to remind themselves and fellow motorists to drive sober and buckle their safety belts.
The busiest travel days are Wednesday and Sunday. Officials at Port Columbus say 56,487 passengers will travel through the airport during those two days alone.
There’s a better-than-ever chance your bags will arrive with you but that’s not always the case.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the lost bag rate has dropped by more than half since 2007. But 3.3 bags for every 1,000 passengers still don’t make it to their destination on time.
Here’s a tip from the experts. Print out a copy of your itinerary from the airline’s website and stick it inside just in case all the tags get ripped off.
If your bag is late, you might be able to get some bonus frequent flier miles or even a voucher toward a future flight.
If you miss a flight or a connection, call the airline directly. You might even want to tweet the airline for help.