USA TODAY International Edition
DON’T GET STUCK IN MEMORIAL DAY TRAFFIC
Big data firm INRIX does the job of getting you there without time- consuming tie- ups
Planning to travel for the Memorial Day weekend?
If so, you’re among nearly 40 million Americans, including 34.6 million in cars, that national motor club AAA projects will travel 50 miles or more, the highest volume during the three- day holiday weekend since 2005.
AAA says the current national average for a gallon of regular gas is almost $ 2.37, up eight cents from this time last year. So why not go? Maybe because one forecast predicts it could take you twice as long to get to your destination.
Many Americans know from painful experience about the worst holiday weekend travel times and routes to and from the weekend getaways of that uncle in the Hamptons, the friend on the Lake Michigan shore or the acquaintance near the Washington- Canada border. But now, computer analysis of traffic- based data from holiday weekends past can help motorists spend less time driving and more time relaxing.
TIME- SAVING ALTERNATIVES
To help avoid travel tie- ups, USA TODAY got tips from INRIX, the U. S.- based big data company that claims the title of the largest connected car services firm. Data experts analyzed anonymized data from 300 million cars equipped with global positioning navigation systems and other electronic devices, identifying differences between normal traffic and actual highway travel during Memorial Day weekends of 2014 and 2016.
After applying the results to this year’s traffic patterns, INRIX predicts bad news: Travel times likely will double in some cases this weekend.
The good news is the analysis also offers suggestions for avoiding Memorial Day weekend traffic jams to getaways around New York City, Washington, D. C., Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. INRIX also gave USA TODAY exclusive data analysis for the return trips.
“It used to be, hey, let’s leave three hours earlier so we can avoid traffic,” said Bob Pishue, an INRIX transportation analyst. But now, “maybe you can spend an extra hour sitting on the deck at your vacation spot in the sun and not sitting in the car.”
Let’s say you’re leaving New York City for Hampton Bays on Long Island’s East End, driving via the Long Island Expressway. On a traffic- free Friday, the INRIX analysis shows the drive would take 90 minutes. But if you leave at 4 p. m. ET this Friday, prepare to spend the next three hours and 40 minutes behind the wheel, the analysis predicts. Pro tip: Leave far earlier, even on Thursday, if you can.
How about leaving Manhattan for the Jersey Shore? A trip via the Garden State Parkway on an ordinary Friday afternoon would take about one hour if there’s no traffic, INRIX says. This Friday? Roughly two hours, if you leave at 3: 30 p. m. Try to get on the road before noon.
Detroit had the least- delayed routes of the cities examined by INRIX. Nonetheless, the traffic data analysis forecast a 50% increase in normal travel times heading south toward Toledo.
If you’re heading west via highway I- 96 to Grand Haven on Lake Michigan’s eastern shore, the trip would take roughly 21⁄ hours on an average Friday, the analysis shows. This Friday, expect to spend an extra hour driving if you leave between 10: 30 a. m. and 3: 30 p. m., INRIX predicts.
On the West Coast, Friday is the busiest day to leave Los Angeles for Memorial Day weekend trips to Palm Springs or Las Vegas, the analysis shows. For San Diego, driving on Saturday is probably going to be a mess.
If you have to travel on peak days, driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas via I- 15 and starting your drive at 5 p. m. Friday will add an extra 40 minutes to what otherwise would be a roughly three- hour and 10- minute drive, INRIX forecasts.
For Memorial Day weekend return trips home, Monday is the worst traffic day. But the analysis shows drivers facing the most highway congestion could save up to 70 minutes of travel time if they head back in the morning, instead of at noon or later.
If you’re lucky enough to extend the holiday weekend until Tuesday, don’t count on a trafficfree return trip. INRIX’s analysis suggests returning weekenders could find themselves on highways with workday commuters heading to the cities.
If you wait until Tuesday, earlier is better. Drivers who leave Ocean City, Md., for Washington, D. C., could save up to an hour of travel time on Tuesday if they leave between 8 a. m. and 9 a. m., INRIX forecasts.