2 million-plus residents hitting the road, the largest number forecast since 2005

November 22, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

COLUMBUS

Law enforcement and transportation officials are urging Ohio drivers to buckle up, slow down and keep their eyes on the road – particularly in work zones – as the state heads into what’s expected to be the busiest travel holiday in more than a decade.

AAA of Ohio is projecting a 2.1 percent increase in Thanksgiving road trips of 50 miles or more this week, with 2 million-plus residents hitting the road, the largest number forecast since 2005. Nationally, 48.7 million are expected to travel away from home during the holiday weekend, up about 1.9 percent from a year ago.

“Be patient,” said Lt. Robert G. Sellers, a spokesman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “There is going to be a lot of people on the roads, a lot of people are going to be traveling 50 miles or more. There’s a lot of people that are driving to airports, so be patient, give yourself extra time and be courteous to your fellow motorists.”

Rising wages and consumer spending combined with lower gas prices helped fuel the higher projections.

“We’re going to see more travelers out there this weekend than we have in the past 11 years in Ohio,” said Kimberly Schwind, a spokeswoman for AAA Ohio. She added, “This increase is really not unique to Thanksgiving. It’s something that we’ve been seeing throughout the year. ... Lots of people are out there traveling, and really the road trip – the Great American road trip – definitely [is] alive and well.”

Ninety percent of Ohioans who are traveling away from home for Thanksgiving plan to drive to their destination, according to AAA. Also, more than 144,000 Ohioans will travel by air, down slightly from last year.

AAA also expects to handle more than 370,000 requests for roadside assistance over the holiday, including everything from dead batteries and empty fuel tanks to keys locked in cars and flat tires.

The increased holiday road traffic also can lead to an uptick in accidents. Last year over the Thanksgiving holiday, nine people were killed in seven fatal crashes on Ohio roadways, with an additional 118 seriously hurt in 4,000-plus crashes, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Alcohol was a factor in 226 accidents, and travelers refrained from using seat belts in 282.

Matt Bruning, spokesman for ODOT, said travelers should take particular care when heading through construction zones (a list of roadwork areas is available on the agency’s website, ohgo.com). Ongoing projects include lane restrictions on Interstate 80 in Trumbull County and I-76 and I-77 ramp work in the Akron area.

“Work zones can be dangerous places, and we’ve already seen more than 5,000 work-zone crashes in the state of Ohio, 26 deaths, 150 serious injuries this year,” Bruning said. “Those are alarming numbers. Certainly we need people to slow down, pay extra attention in these work zones. ... Allow some extra time to get through those work zones.”

He added, “Delays are minimal. If you slow down to 45 mph through a 2-mile-long work zone, you’re only going to add about 60 seconds to your commute. ... That 60 seconds is certainly worth a life.”