Leave Now, Or Stare At Brake Lights Later

TYSONS CORNER, Va. (WUSA) -- You might want to get started now.

AAA Mid-Atlantic is predicting nearly one million locals will hit the road for Thanksgiving. Air travel is actually taking a nose dive, so the vast majority of us will be on the highway. The experts are predicting a 4.3 percent increase in people traveling by car.

The reaction from a lot of people filling up their tanks at Tysons: "Traffic is horrible now. I don't want to be anywhere near my car at Thanksgiving."

But Lon Anderson of AAA says the pull of hearth and home is strong at Thanksgiving. "We're all Pilgrims," this time of year, he says.

Gas is expected to be about 60 cents a gallon more this Thanksgiving than last, but Anderson says after paying nearly $4 a gallon a few years ago, $2.65 seems like a bargain to a lot of people.

Anderson says the worst time to travel is late on Wednesday or anytime Sunday.