Nothing can ruin a road trip like traffic. When you have flexibility to choose your vacation start day, make the most of it by avoiding traffic!
In the USA, the best day to travel to avoid traffic is Sunday. Sunday traffic can be as much as 60% less than weekday travel. Look at local trends and consider holidays and local events when planning to travel through a large city in order to avoid wasting time sitting in traffic.
What day should we leave on a road trip?
Leaving on a Sunday is the best way to avoid traffic on your road trip. It is tempting to jump in the car and start your getaway Friday after work, but Friday is the day you are most likely to encounter traffic on US highways.
The Federal Highway Administration has provided a very interesting resource that shows trends in traffic congestion and offers some hints for how to avoid finding yourself in it!
- Holidays and Holiday Shopping Traffic
Avoiding travel around holidays seems to be an obvious choice, but those weeks before holidays can also have increased traffic congestion from holiday shoppers and big trucks delivering the goods!
- Local Racing Events
Horse racing and NASCAR events create lots of volume of cars on the road. Check any racing facilities along your route and look at their schedule.
- Annual Rural Events
When traveling to a once a year event, expect heavy congestion. Rural locations do not regularly support lots of drivers and those roadways will be stressed by the volume of vehicles.
4th of July fireworks are a great example. The event usually draws hundreds to rural locations where traffic is rare. Plan to arrive early and leave late. If the event is a multi day event, pack extra snacks and plan multiple routes.
A printed map can be very helpful in a situation like this.
- University Move In Day
If you are traveling in late summer or fall, College and University move in days can create lots of highway and city delays. These events are often spread over 2 or 3 days.
Plan to Leave on a Weekday
Many people choose to leave for a vacation on a weekday to avoid road congestion. If you plan to leave on a weekday, avoid rush hours in major cities. For example:
| Weekday | Leave | Arrive |
| 5 Hour Drive | 4 am 7am | 9 am (This will put you in rush hour traffic)12pm (You can avoid morning rush hour) |
| 8 Hour Drive | 4am 7am | 12pm (Consider where you will be driving by 6 or 7 am and make sure it is rural)3pm (This will allow you to avoid most morning rush hour) |
Commuters are your biggest concern if you plan to leave on a weekday. Plan your route to avoid morning and afternoon rush hours in cities or commerce centers.
You will also be sharing the road with more truck drivers and service workers during the week.
Pros
- Truck drivers are professional drivers
- They have greater incentive to be safe drivers
Cons
- Truck drivers have large blind spots that should be avoided
- Collisions with Trucks are devastating to smaller cars
There are about 10% fewer trucks on the road on Sundays. Avoiding highways will also reduce the time you are sharing the road with truckers. Make the choice that is most comfortable for you.
These cities are ranked by INRIX as the worst for commuter traffic and should be avoided on weekdays:
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Chicago
- Boston
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- New Orleans
- Huston
- Miami
You can read about how many hours commuters lose in these cities by reading the INRIX scorecard here.
Which Day Should I Start Vacation?
If you are talking to your employer about when you take your precious vacation days, consider splitting them up over 2 work weeks.
Starting a vacation on Wednesday has a lot of benefits.
| Pros | Cons |
| Avoid Traffic | Employer may be hesitant to split up your vacation |
| Spend the whole weekend at your destination | Entertainment may be limited on weekdays |
| Get weekday rates for lodging and entertainment | |
| Enjoy 2 short work weeks before and after vacation |
How to avoid traffic on a road trip?
Start Strong
The best way to avoid traffic is to begin your trip on a Sunday. Traffic tends to dip lowest on Sunday and steadily climb until Friday where it peaks and starts to dwindle on Saturday.
If you must travel on Friday and Saturday, choose to avoid highways around major cities.
Plan Smart
If you take the fastest route on your GPS, you are much more likely to encounter traffic because everyone is using the same apps to map their route.
Change the settings in your map to avoid tolls and avoid highways.
This is a great hack if you are planning to travel on high traffic days.
Find Alternative Routes
If you are going on a holiday road trip, look at a map ahead of time so you are familiar with major roads around your destination.
- What are the main roads?
- What roads run parallel to the highway?
- What roads circle around major cities?
Knowing what to look for in an alternate route will give you a leg up on other travelers who are mindlessly following their phone prompts.
If you want to go a step further, you can download a special app developed to help you dodge slowdowns.
What tools can I use to plan my road trip around traffic?
Remember that everyone is using a navigation app. If everyone chooses the fastest route, there will be traffic.
Use these Apps to avoid traffic:
- Waze
Waze is an app that gives you real time traffic updates. This is a great tool to use if you are traveling around major cities with predictable traffic patterns.
- Roadside America
This app allows you to find interesting stops off the beaten path. This is great for when the beaten path is full of break lights.
Stop often, it’s about the journey.
- Google Maps
Using your GPS the right way to avoid traffic! Make sure to look at each route available and choose the one that makes the most sense
Choose to take back roads, see local sites, drive through town instead of around it.
If you are embracing slow travel, you are free to avoid traveling in peak times.
How to get out of traffic?
You did everything you knew to do to avoid traffic, but you encounter a road closure or accident that slows you down.
Should you stick to your lane or weave in and out to get there faster?
The Myth Busters weigh in here:
They determined that changing lanes was the fastest way to get to your location. If you are feeling frustrated passing and being passed by the same truck or bus over and over, keep weaving, and have faith in the method.
