San Antonians among millions of travelers hitting the roads for the holidays

AAA predicts 102 million people traveling by car for Christmas

SAN ANTONIO – People who are traveling by car for Christmas could be all over the place when it comes to their emotions.

On one hand, especially low gas prices could have them in the holiday spirit. The extra heavy traffic that is expected, though, may bring out the Grinch in them.

"I know the gas prices are good, but I hope I don’t run into a lot of traffic,” said Charlynn Parker, who was making the long drive with her sister from Houston to Los Angeles.

They stopped in San Antonio early Friday morning for gas, which is less than $2/gallon locally.

“These gas prices, they're just amazing,” said Pam Hayes, her sister. “I'm just really happy to see it.”
But based on predictions by the American Automobile Association (AAA), their hopes for a traffic-free trip likely will be dashed.

The company is expecting a record-breaking holiday rush on the roads, with about 102 million people across the country traveling by car this year.

AAA says that could add up to delays for drivers.

“There’s going to be a lot of traffic on the border,” said Luciano Aviles, who is driving to Monterrey, Mexico with his wife and children. “I’ll just keep in mind that we're going to visit our family.”

He plans to take a Zen approach, focusing on the good things to help cancel out any traffic headaches.
Parker, meanwhile, will drown out her troubles with music.

“Put the tunes on, eat a lot of sweets and drink a lot of coffee,” she said.

Her sister says she also is looking forward to spending time together and making new holiday memories.

“I'm just happy to be with her and to have this quality time,” Hayes said. “That's what it's about.”


About the Author:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.