Millions of people are expected to travel for the last weekend of summer.
Some 35 million drivers will be on the road, traveling 50 miles or more for the holiday, according to American Automobile Association. Last year, Labor Day travelers drove more than 75 million miles and went through 3.5 million gallons of gas, according to a report from Hum by Verizon VZ, +0.13% , a vehicle tracking system. The report examined data from more than 550,000 drivers to determine the best and worst time to hit the roads on the three-day weekend.
Best and worst times to travel
The worst time to be on the road is Friday afternoon, according to Julie Hall, spokeswoman at AAA, as many people will leave work early to hit the road.
Rush hour — around 5 p.m. on Friday — is particularly bad, but waiting until after that time can be even worse, the Verizon report said. “The most trips per hour were made from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the Friday before Labor Day, so waiting until rush hour is over does not mean fewer cars on the roads,” it said.
Experts suggest leaving at the crack of dawn, or just after. The best time to get on the road for Labor Day is between 5 a.m. and 7 am on Friday or Saturday to avoid “bumper-to-bumper traffic, according to the analysis. Some travelers should take that advice to heart: California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had the highest volume of traffic in 2017.
Coming home
Grab a coffee and a light breakfast, don’t stop to fraternize with the other guests at your hotel, and just hit the road as soon as you can. As with the day of departure, the best time to come back home on Labor Day weekend is early, especially if you want to avoid metro area bottlenecks, the Verizon report concluded. It found easiest time to head back home is before noon on Monday, as traffic peaks after 3 p.m.
Staying safe
As always, motorists should avoid distraction while driving, according to AAA, and get plenty of rest. The safety organization recommends breaks from driving every two hours or 100 miles to remain alert.
“Hands-free and in-vehicle technologies can mentally distract drivers, even if their eyes are on the road and their hands are on the wheel,” Hall said. “Drivers should designate a passenger to serve as their official text messenger and navigator.”
Airline travel
Airline travel will be packed as well: according to industry trade group Airlines for America. Some 16.5 million people are expected to fly on U.S. airlines between Wednesday, Aug. 29, and Tues., Sept. 3. Gas prices were at their highest this summer since 2014.
What’s more, 2018 has been an “exceptionally busy” year for air travel, Airlines for America vice president John Heimlich said in a statement, with 20 out of the 25 busiest days ever recorded by the Transportation Security Administration occurring so far this year.
Friday, Aug. 31 is set to be the busiest travel day of the week, with 2.76 million passengers flying. This Labor Day airlines will accommodate an average of 2.36 million passengers each day, a 79,000 person increase from 2017.
Get a daily roundup of the top reads in personal finance delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Personal Finance Daily newsletter. Sign up here.
