For Canadian truck drivers working south of the border, November 22nd is just another day at the office, but for our American friends, it’s Thanksgiving. This is most likely going to delay your week in one form or another. First off, many shippers and receivers will be closed for the holiday, so getting deliveries done earlier in the week will be key.
The biggest factor that truck drivers will have to deal with is the increased traffic volume. Record numbers are expected to hit the highways this year. With higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth across the United States, many Americans have a lot to be thankful about. This is certainly going to become evident as approximately 54 million Americans travel across Interstates, and freeways, city streets and back lanes to get to a celebration of thanks, with turkey and cranberry sauce. And while we may have celebrated Thanksgiving weeks ago, we can certainly understand and relate to the need to get to turkey and cranberry sauce as quickly as possible.
A Few Interesting Facts
- The Thanksgiving holiday period runs from Wednesday, November 21 to Sunday, November 25. You can expect traffic delays during this time.
- Boston, San Fransico, and New York City are the top three cities with the longest traffic delays. AAA warns that travel time may quadruple!
- The Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving are the worst travel days because of the increased traffic from people heading to their travel destination and returning home after the celebration.
- The top 7 Thanksgiving travel destinations are Orlando, New York, Anaheim, Las Vegas, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington, and Miami.
A Few Articles to Read
- Road Rage: What You Need to Know – expect to see your fair share of road rage during Thanksgiving as more motorists take to the roads all trying to rush to their destination.
- Deal with Aggressive Drivers & Road Rage Like a Professional – Aggressive drivers are not as bad as road ragers, but definitely dish out more than a fair share of dangerous driving situations.
- The Best Truck Drivers have Shifty Eyes – to be a safe driver you have to do more than simply look out the windshield and check your mirrors. You have to learn how to judge what is happening and what could happen around you.
