Memorial Day Weekend Travel Up Big From 2020, Down From 2018 And 2019

       With the easing of COVID-19 rules leading more people to start traveling again, AAA says Memorial Day Weekend numbers are well above last year but still well below traditional levels.

        AAA says more than 37 million people nationwide are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend – a 60% jump from last year, but below the 43-million in 2019 and 41.5-million in 2018.

       Nearly 2.5-million Americans are flying, nearly 6 times more than last year but 13.3% fewer than 2 years ago and down 750,000 from 2018. 

     AAA was forecasting 34.4-million of this weekend’s travelers are driving and, as usual, are seeing more law enforcement officers on the road than on a normal weekend.

       That’s because the Click It or Ticket national seat belt campaign is underway with state highway safety offices providing grants to cover the overtime costs of agencies putting more officers out. The Chadron Police Department has one such grant.

       The Nebraska State Patrol does too, but it’s also taking part in 2 other complementary efforts that include this weekend.

      One is State2State Buckle Up with Wyoming, South Dakota, and 4 other states. The other is a tri-state effort with the Iowa State Patrol and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. 

      The effort includes high visibility patrols on the busiest highways in that tri-state region, including the eastern end of Highway 20 in Nebraska.