Thanksgiving Weekend Traffic In The US Looks Hellish

The Thanksgiving weekend couldn’t really be getting off to a much worse start for anyone trying to drive out of major US cities via the freeways.

Mildly hypnotic video footage widely shared by the American news networks showed how bad the jams had become ahead of what is one of the most popular holidays in the country, where millions of people uproot their entire families to go and stay with relatives for a few days and get fat.

Some 50.9 million people are expected to travel over the weekend, many of them over long distances of hundreds or thousands of miles.

A traditional Christian celebration of thankfulness is ultimately the reason for the rush, but a combination of a growing economy and low unemployment mean record numbers of people can afford to make the trips they want to.

Public transport was swamped, with authorities predicting that the human traffic would be the worst in over a decade. An estimated 24 million travellers were due to pass through US airports – a six per cent increase on Thanksgiving 2016 when the roads were almost as bad as they’ve been this year.

Back on the roads, actor Hugh Jackman, who looks a lot like he’s taken up the lute and become a geography teacher, tweeted from the jam he was stuck in.

Sunday is expected to be the busiest day of all both on the roads and in the air. The Transport Security Administration predicts that the day will break into the top five busiest air traffic days in history. If you’re travelling for Thanksgiving, stay safe and leave very early.