AAA Warns Holiday Travelers about Heavy Traffic over July 4

06/27/96

American Automobile Association is predicting how many Americans will be traveling over this July fourth, where they are coming from and going to, and how they are getting there. The predictions are based on the results of the Travel Industry Association of America's telephone survey of 1,500 adults.

The AAA says that 35.7 million traveling Americans will make this Fourth of July the most traveled summer holiday since 1988, when 36 million Americans hit the road for Independence Day. The Fourth is typically the holiday that generates the most traffic on American highways, and this year's numbers are expected to exceed last year's by 2 percent.

30.3 million of the 35.7 million expected travelers will be driving, while a cool 5.4 million are expected to be on airplanes, in buses, or on trains. AAA's June Fuel Gauge Survey shows that drivers can expect to pay an average of $1.30 per gallon of unleaded gasoline. That price is up 7.5 cents a gallon over last year's price, and will cost consumers an average of 30 cents extra for each 100 miles they drive.

The breakdown on where travelers are likely to come from says that 7.8 million will be Southeasterners, while 6.5 million will be Northeasterners. 5.8 million travelers will start out from the Great Lakes region, 5.5 million will come from the West, and 4.7 million will come from the Midwest.

Where travelers are going is another story: 24 percent are going to visit cities, and the same amount are going to visit towns, 18 percent are going to the ocean or the beach, 12 percent will be going to lakes, 8 percent are going to the mountains, 6 percent are headed for theme parks or amusement parks, 3 percent are going to state or national parks, and 5 percent have not yet decided where they are going.

AAA predicts that 35 percent of all travelers will stay at hotels or motels; while another 35 percent will stay with relatives or friends; 14 percent will be in cabins, condos or vacation homes; 8 percent will be in campers, trailers, RVs or tents; 6 percent haven't decide where they will stay or won't stay overnight; and 2 percent have found other accommodations.

The AAA has published the following chart which illustrates how many Americans there are and how many of those will be traveling for the Fourth of July:

           PROJECTED NUMBER OF JULY 4TH, 1996 TRAVELERS
                     BY AUTOMOBILE/TRUCK/RV
                 BY CENSUS REGION OF RESIDENCE*

                            POPULATION      PERCENT      #TRAVELERS
                            (MILLIONS)     TRAVELING     (MILLIONS)

      TOTAL U.S.               262.9          12%           30.3
      NORTHEAST                 51.5          13%            6.5
      SOUTHEAST                 63.1          12%            7.8
      GREAT LAKES               43.5          13%            5.8
      MIDWEST                   47.2          10%            4.7
      WEST                      57.6          10%            5.5


  *NORTHEAST: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania; SOUTHEAST: South Atlantic: Delaware, District of
Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia, West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee; GREAT LAKES: East North Central: Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin; MIDWEST: West North Central: Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota;
West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas; WEST:
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Wyoming, Utah; Pacific: Washington, Oregon, California.

  SOURCE: American Automobile Association; Travel Industry
Association

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel