The Busy Thanksgiving Travel…..Are you Ready for it?!

You want to enjoy Thanksgiving with your family, surrounded by delicious food, not wasting hours stuck in noisy, stressful traffic or risking an accident or breakdown on the way.

But the holiday brings real challenges to travelers. According to AAA, 71 million Americanstraveled by car last Thanksgiving. And that number keeps going up.

So how do you avoid the hassle of traffic, keep your family safe, and get to your destination as stress-free as possible?

Here are some Thanksgiving road travel tips:

1. Avoid Travel the Tuesday and Wednesday Before Thanksgiving:

Especially in the afternoons, these are the busiest road travel days of the year. It’s better to travel Thursday morning in many cases.

2. Use Traffic Apps to Plan Ahead of Time:

Did you know that mobile and PC map applications like Google and Apple Maps don’t just tell you traffic happening right now?

They can also give you a prediction of how long your route will take ahead of time. Use these to plan ahead and avoid any local closures or traffic bottlenecks.

3. Drive Safe and Extra Alert:

According to the National Safety Council, 8% of all injury-causing road crashes for the year happen during Thanksgiving travel. Don’t drive tired, and be extra aware of the drivers around you to avoid any accidents.

4. Prepare Your Vehicle Before You Go:

Don’t wait until the last minute to find out something’s wrong with your car. Be sure to check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s free VIN lookup to make sure there are no open recalls on your specific vehicle. You can find that here: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/decoder/

5. Pack an Emergency Kit:

Especially if your destination involves more snow and ice than you’re used to, be prepared with food, water, blankets, jumper cables, a shovel, and a phone charger. If you do get trapped, stay with your car and run the heater sparingly while you wait for help.

By planning ahead, you can avoid the stress of holiday travel and arrive safely just in time for warm mashed potatoes and turkey. If you do find a problem or concern with your car, we here at Tommy’s Hi Tech would be happy to take a look and get you ready.

Stay alert, stay prepared, and have a great holiday with the people who matter most.