Travelers Heading Home As Memorial Day Weekend Comes To A Close
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—As Memorial Day winds to a close, many people are making the drive home from their long weekend.
Derek Valcourt has more weekend travel and the traffic it's brought to the roads.
Some leave and take a vacation. Some people come here to visit. No matter the direction, we're seeing record numbers of drivers for a Memorial Day weekend.
Blame it on that really rough winter, but it seems everyone wanted a getaway this weekend. They are ready for a taste of summer.
"We had a beautiful time," said Tom Desell.
Friday's Bay Bridge backups kept some slow going, and accidents locked up parts of the 95 corridor. That had some choosing to start their return drive Monday earlier than planned.
"All the traffic I saw going down there, I figure by now everyone should be home and so far I'm doing pretty good," one man said.
In all, AAA predicted some 754,000 Marylanders were planning to travel for the long weekend, with 89 percent of them driving.
Those record numbers of travelers come despite the fact that gas prices are slightly higher this year.
Right now, the average price per gallon in Maryland sits at $3.65. That's up 13 cents from the same time last year.
"Certainly the economy is improving. While it's not stellar, it certainly is improving to the point where people are feeling a little more comfortable with their discretionary income and putting that toward travel," said Ragina Averella, AAA Mid-Atlantic.
State police vowed rigorous enforcement throughout the weekend.
"We're going to be targeting impaired drivers, aggressive drivers, those that are driving while they are distracted," said Lt. Col. Jerry Jones, Maryland State Police.
Drivers we talked to say police kept their word.
"Seen a lot of state troopers out there giving tickets out from Delaware down through Virginia, all over, pulling them over left and right," said Chris Zelez.
While it was a big weekend for driving, airports were also busy. In fact, the TSA says when this weekend is all said and done, they'll have had about 2.6 million people heading through security checkpoints.
AAA says while driving and flying were still the most common travel options, they are seeing a 9 percent increase in people traveling by bus or train or even cruise lines this year.
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