The cold air has settled in, the last of the leaves are falling from New Jersey’s trees, the Giants are playing well and the Jets are thinking about next season….it must be the week of Thanksgiving!
Getting the chance to spend quality time with loved ones while enjoying some turkey and pumpkin pie always makes this holiday a joyous time. However, as New Jersey’s premier car accident law firm, we at Mintz & Geftic also know that holiday weekends bring about some of the most hazardous conditions on our roadways. This Thanksgiving will certainly be no exception according to most travel and auto accident experts.
AAA Travel is projecting that nearly 1.25 million New Jersey residents are planning a Thanksgiving trip of at least 50 miles. With 48.7 million people expected to travel across the country this week, AAA Travel is expecting the highest Thanksgiving travel volume on our highways since 2007.
While this number includes people choosing to fly to visit family for the holiday, driving is still the primary choice for most New Jersey drivers. In fact, more than 89 percent of all travelers are expected to travel by car, meaning 1.1 million New Jersey drivers will be taking to the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and our other roadways in the coming days.
Best and Worst Times to Drive on Thanksgiving Weekend
The following is a breakdown of expected traffic for each day of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. This data incorporates reports from both Google Maps and Waze.
Tuesday: Peak traffic and accident reports from 4-8 p.m. Huge increase in usage starting from 1 p.m. until the end of the day.
Wednesday: If you need to leave on Wednesday, hit the road around 6am to avoid traffic delays. Peak traffic is from 3-7 pm, but large increase in drivers startis from 11am and continues until the end of the day. An increase of 63% in accident alerts is reported by Waze Users on this day. This includes rear-end collisions, serious injury accidents, truck accidents and other crashes due to the increased traffic.
Thursday: Driver behavior and car accident reports similar to a weekend day and not a work day.
Friday: Driver behavior and car accident reports similar to a weekend day and not a work day.
Saturday: Per Google’s data, this is the worst day to return home after Thanksgiving. Their traffic data indicates that Saturday at 4pm is the busiest time, where traffic jams and accidents are increased.
Sunday: Worst day to travel after Thanksgiving according to Waze. They report that traffic jams increase by 240 percent and both car accident and truck accident reports are increased.
Monday: If people can take Monday off, traffic volume and accident reports are much lighter..
Bottom-line, avoid traveling Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday if at all possible. Otherwise, please travel safely and always remember to Put Down the Cellphone.
We wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!
Elizabeth, New Jersey Accident Lawyers
Our New Jersey Accident Lawyers give personal attention to all of our clients. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, truck accident or bus accident, call us today at 908-352-2323. You can also send us an email by clicking here.
Our Elizabeth, New Jersey Accident Lawyers represent clients who are suffering with serious injuries. This includes those with traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, spinal cord injury, burn injury and other personal injuries as a result of an accident. Please contact us today for a free consultation so we can help evaluate your case.
Our Elizabeth, New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyers serve clients throughout New Jersey and New York, including the cities of Newark, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Hackensack, and Morris, Bergen, Hudson, Union and Middlesex counties. We have offices in Elizabeth, New Jersey and New York City.
At Mintz & Geftic, WE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU!
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