NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Going somewhere for family time this week? You're not alone.
"Thanksgiving is typically the busiest holiday for travel," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "This year we're expecting to set new records across the board. Nationwide, we're projecting 79.9 million people will be traveling 50 miles or more from home. Here in Kansas, a little more than 861,000 Kansans will be headed out of town, about 90% of them in Kansas will be driving to their Thanksgiving destination."
With the roads so busy, be sure to buckle up.
"Slow down, have everybody in your vehicle wearing seatbelts or in a child seat," Steward said. "Don't drive distracted and certainly don't get behind the wheel if you've been drinking or consuming any kind of drugs. It was a dangerous time last year in Kansas, there were about 1,100 traffic crashes over the Thanksgiving holiday that resulted in 258 injuries and two fatalities."
The Wednesday night before the holiday is colloquially known as "Drinksgiving", when many people go out with friends who are in town for the holiday.
"People like to celebrate and have fun, which is understandable, but it's just important to not get behind the wheel if you've been drinking. Make sure that you have a safe and 100% sober driver to get you where you need to be," Steward said. "You know, a less drunk person is not the best option to drive home. You need to have somebody who hasn't been drinking."
The TSA anticipates that they may break their overall daily screening record for air travelers on Sunday, December 1st. The record was set this past summer when TSA screened about 3 million travelers and they're expecting they may beat that.