AAA: Gas prices will impact how far people travel this Memorial Day weekend

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – We are in the peak travel time for Memorial Day weekend. 45 million Americans will be traveling the next four days, despite higher gas prices and airfare. The busiest traffic of the holiday weekend is expected through Friday afternoon, while Sunday is projected to be the lightest day on the roads.

Tiffany Wright with AAA says gas prices won’t keep people from traveling, but may impact how far they go. She says, “For those late kind of last minute stragglers that decide the last minute that they might want to take a trip to the beach, they might want to take a trip to the mountains, they might decide to shorten their trip. They might decide to not go as far away from home and stay a little closer. So I think that’s the trend that we will see.”

AAA tells us 1.3 million North Carolinians will travel 50 miles or more over the long weekend. The state average for gas is currently $4.24 a gallon.