Traffic Heats Up for Fourth of July Holiday Weekend
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It’s going to be a busy Fourth of July on the roadways. State troopers say the official travel surge starts at midnight and runs through Sunday.
Triple A expects to see the most drivers on the roads since 2007. About 41 million people across the country will drive 50 miles or more for holiday celebrations. That creates a challenge for state troopers, who are stepping up patrols. Budgets have been cut, though, which means there are fewer troopers to cover large areas.
“When you don’t have the manpower or the personnel that you would like, then obviously it increases the response time to crashes, because we don’t have as many troopers as we would like working specific areas or counties,” said Cpl. Jesse Thornton with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
They say they are counting on local police to help patrol for drunk drivers, speeders, or people texting behind the wheel.
There’s some good news for those of you hitting the roads this weekend. Gas prices are the lowest they’ve been for the Fourth of July in about five years.
