AAA is forecasting a four percent increase in travel for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. It’s expected that 43.8 million travelers will be going 50 miles or more from home, and that comes close to matching the 2005 record of 44 million Memorial Day travelers.
The forecast projects 38.4 million people will travel by car, and that’s the highest number for the Memorial Day holiday since AAA began tracking in 2000. There will be 3.5 million air travelers for the holiday, and almost two million will travel by other methods including buses, cruises and trains.
AAA is expecting more than 488,000 Kansans to travel 50 miles or more from home, and 423,000 or 87 percent will be on the road. More than 20,500 Kansans will be traveling by air.
The average gas price in Kansas has been around $3.15 a gallon, and that has been 40-45 cents lower than the national average. After an increase in the spring, gas prices have been fairly stable in recent weeks, and the average price is slightly lower than a year ago.
AAA has tips for traveling by road this summer:
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Get your vehicle checked out. Perform regular car maintenance at the intervals recommended by the vehicle manufacturer in the owner’s manual or as indicated by the in-car maintenance reminder system. A clean engine air filter can help improve gas mileage. Find a AAA Approved Auto Repair Facility here.
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Keep tires properly inflated. Under-inflated tires can decrease your gas mileage by approximately 3%. Not to mention, properly inflated tires are safer and last longer. Check pressure in all four tires every two weeks with an accurate, hand-held air pressure gauge.
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Know your octane. Do not purchase mid-grade or premium gas unless your owner’s manual specifically recommends it. According to AAA research, Americans waste more than $2.1 billion annually on premium gas in vehicles designed to run on regular fuel. AAA found no benefit to using premium gas instead of regular-grade fuel. At the time of the study, 75% of U.S. drivers owned a vehicle that required only regular gasoline.
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Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.15 per gallon of gas. Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.
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Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and by 5% around town.
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Minimize drag. Drag reduces fuel efficiency. Driving with the windows open, using roof- or rear-mounted racks and carrying heavy loads increase vehicle drag. A loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel economy by 5%. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car’s fuel economy by 1-2%.
[ photo: kandrive.gov ]
