Labor Day Travelers Hit The Roads For Last Hurrah Of Summer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Drivers can expect some company on the roads for Labor Day weekend as the busy summer driving season comes to a close.
AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. said it continues a trend we've seen all of this year and last year.
"The Federal Highway Administration said that we set a record for road travel last year in the United States of more than 3 trillion miles," he told 1010 WINS. "This year we're doing about 280 billion miles a month, and in fact that was the number for June, which was 5 billion more miles than June of the previous year. So we're driving a lot and certainly we see no reason why it shouldn't continue over this holiday weekend."
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Drivers will enjoy the cheapest gas in 12 years. A gallon of regular in New York City averages $2.46, the lowest since 2004, when gas was $2.12, AAA said.
1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck stopped at the Vince Lombardi rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike to chat with drivers who tried to beat the traffic by hitting the roads before dawn.
"The gas prices are great, it's an easy ride, no traffic anywhere coming south," said one woman who was on her way to Virginia Beach, where she was planning to surprise her son who's in the military. "I haven't seen him in three years. It's great, I can't wait to see him."
Traffic is expected to pick up after lunchtime Friday, AAA said.
As Tropical Storm Hermine makes her way up the east coast, Sinclair urges drivers to be careful.
"It looks like that storm might affect weather conditions on Monday so drivers want to keep that mind before they hit the road," Sinclair said.
In New Jersey, it was a nice sunny drive down the shore on Friday, CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported. Most folks at the Cheesequake rest stop were trying to get to the beach right away. Some say they will go back home if the storm is severe, but other beachbound drivers say they will stay through Labor Day no matter what.
Many people hoping for the best say they survived Sandy, and they're not scared of whatever Hermine could bring as far as storm surge, wind and rain.
