AAA Sees Drop in July 4th Travel

The recent drop in gasoline prices isn’t enough to get some people traveling far from home over this Fourth of July weekend, according to AAA.

A projected 39 million Americans will be traveling this holiday weekend, a 2.5 percent decrease from the 40 million travelers who took a trip of 50 or more miles away from home in 2010, AAA reports. The Independence Day holiday travel period is considered to begin Thursday, June 30, through Monday, July 4.

While travel did hold steady over weekend, Jim Lehman, executive vice president of AAA East Central, said motorists are starting to see the trickle-down effect of fuel costs as they use more of their budgets just to drive to work and to run daily errands.

“AAA is projecting a slight decline in the number of Independence Day travelers mainly due to the day-to-day budgetary impact of fuel prices sustaining an average that is $1 per gallon higher than last year,” Lehman said in a statement.

“Many Americans remain cautious about the outlook for their personal finances, and these attitudes are reflected in the slight decline in travel we are forecasting for the upcoming holiday weekend," he said.

Approximately 32.8 million motorists plan to travel by automobile, a decline of nearly 1 million from the 33.7 million who drove last year. Automobile travel remains the dominant mode of transportation, with 84 percent of holiday travelers going by vehicle.

The national average price for regular gasoline is $3.626 a gallon. Here’s a look at local prices as of Monday: