Road tripping for Thanksgiving? You're not alone.
According to AAA, 55 million travelers including 1.3 million Tennesseans will be traveling at least 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving Day.
AAA estimates this will be the second-highest Thanksgiving for traffic in nearly 20 years.
“With record levels of travelers, and persistent population growth in the country’s major metropolitan areas, drivers must prepare for major delays,” said Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at INRIX in a release.
AAA and INRIX predict traffic will peak on Wednesday afternoon with road trips taking up to four times longer than usual.
"If your destination takes you through major metro cities, if you can try to avoid those cities at rush hour, it may give you few less headaches as you're traveling," said Stephanie Milani, Public Affairs Director of AAA Auto Club Group.
AAA advises drivers to allow for extra time and get any other needed maintenance repair on your car before heading out.
"We want to look for things like regularly scheduled maintenance like oil changes, tire tread, tire pressure but you also want to make sure you have a winter weather driving kit," said Milani.
Milani suggests the kit should include gloves, blankets, water, snacks, flares and even kitty litter.
If you're traveling with family, Milani reminds drivers to make sure the driver is not distracted by passengers and be sure to pack snacks and refreshments for kids.
"When you're traveling with small kids and they need some entertainment, just go ahead and pack a box for entertainment, get some extra DVDs that they can watch and make sure everyone is properly buckled in," said Milani.
Additionally, Milani suggests mapping out your route ahead of time, having a designated passenger to navigate and giving a passenger an extra set of car keys will help to relieve stress on the roadway.
Tennessee Highway Patrol also reminds drivers if they need any road assistance to dial *THP (*847).