2022 – Thanksgiving Travel Safety Tips

Thanksgiving weekend is but a few days away, and millions of us will be traveling in the coming days to visit family and friends at levels we haven’t seen since before the pandemic. The AAA tells us that 54.6 million of us will travel more than 50 miles from home.

“Family and friends are eager to spend time together this Thanksgiving, one of the busiest for travel in the past two decades,” says Paula Twidale, AAA’s Senior Vice President of Travel “Plan ahead and pack your patience, whether your driving or flying.”

DRIVING

AAA tells us most of us will drive to our destination (49 million of us).

Our Barbara Schluetter protects her family while driving by having a travel safety kit in her vehicle. Remember to check those items which have expiration dates, as they will need to be changed out periodically. In addition, add food items appropriate for the trip being contemplated. Think of being prepared to be stuck on the side of the road due to road closure for 12 or more hours. Finally, if it is sunny, put that sunscreen in the bucket.

Google tells us that the “Best Times for Thanksgiving Travel” requires thought so that you may “outsmart a potential slowdown.”

The best times for Thanksgiving travel

Whether you’re hitting the road early or heading out on Thanksgiving day, you can outsmart a potential slowdown by choosing the right time to leave. We took a look at last year’s Thanksgiving traffic patterns across more than 20 major U.S. cities to help you plan your trip and quit traffic cold turkey.

? When to hit the road. The best time to get on the road before Thanksgiving is typically Monday at 8 p.m. local time. Try to avoid driving on Tuesday or Wednesday around 4 and 5 p.m., as that’s typically when Thanksgiving traffic hits its peak.

? Turkey-day travels. Planning to make your turkey trot on Thanksgiving day? Try to hit the road before noon or after 5 p.m. Roads are typically more congested between 3-5 p.m., which could cause some ruffled feathers.

? Black Friday shopping. If you manage to emerge from your Thanksgiving food coma to shop ‘til you drop, there’s no sense in getting caught in traffic! On Black Friday, we typically see traffic pick up around noon and peak around 4 p.m. in most places across the U.S. You’ll see fewer cars on the road at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., and between 7-8 p.m.

? Home for the weekend. To make sure your journey home is all gravy after the festivities are over, try to avoid the roads at 4 p.m. on Sat

Traveling to the World Cup?

Don’t forget to obtain our eBook: “Staying Safe at the 2022 World Cup“

FLYING

AAA shared with us with how millions will be taking buses, trains, or cruise ships, with Mexico dominating as the foreign destination of choice for U.S. travelers.

TSA is already seeing a surge of travelers at the nation’s airports, with numbers exceeding the 2019 levels, with just yesterday, over 2.2 million travelers passing through TSA. The TSA tells us that the “three busiest days during the Thanksgiving travel period nationally are typically Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving and Sunday after the holiday. TSA could screen as many as 2.5 million passengers at checkpoints nationwide on Wednesday, Nov. 23, and may surpass 2.5 million passengers on Sunday, Nov. 27.”

TSA took a step to help all travelers who are bringing food with advice on what to check and what you may carry-on.

Thanksgiving foods that can be carried through a TSA checkpoint

• Baked goods. Homemade or store-bought pies, cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweet treats.
• Meats. Turkey, chicken, ham, steak. Frozen, cooked or uncooked.
• Stuffing. Cooked, uncooked, in a box or in a bag.
• Casseroles. Traditional green beans and onion straws or something more exotic.
• Mac ‘n Cheese. Cooked in a pan or traveling with the ingredients to cook it at your destination.
• Fresh vegetables. Potatoes, yams, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, radishes, carrots, squash, greens.
• Fresh fruit. Apples, pears, pineapple, lemons, limes, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, kiwi. 
• Candy.
• Spices.

Thanksgiving foods that should be carefully packed with your checked baggage

• Cranberry sauce. Homemade or canned are spreadable, so check them.
• Gravy. Homemade or in a jar/can.
• Wine, champagne, sparking apple cider.
• Canned fruit or vegetables. It’s got liquid in the can, so check them.
• Preserves, jams and jellies. They are spreadable, so best to check them.
• Maple syrup.

Be planful – TSA lines will move slow, but you can do your part to make them move faster. Reduce the number of items which need to be removed and placed in the scanner or place them in your bag before the scanner.

Be patient – Plan on waiting in line, a lot, often, seemingly forever. It will be worse if you don’t have TSA PRE. A recent foray which took us into four of the nation’s airports witnessed TSA doing a fine job, moving people through the security checks expeditiously as possible.

Airport parking – Using our airport SEATAC as an example, if you don’t have a parking reservation, you won’t have a spot. Be planful. Consider alternative means to get to the airport. Train, shuttle, drop-off.

Expect to encounter the ASSHAT – We always say this, because they exist. They exist, they percolate to the forefront during times of stress. That said, cut your flight attendants some slack and take steps to keep yourself and your fellow traveler safe and secure as we travel through the skies.

Those are our quick and dirty travel tips to get you through the Thanksgiving travel experience.

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