Memorial Day driving to break records

Road travel is the story here. Not flights, not cruises — cars. AAA now expects 39.4 million Americans to drive over Memorial Day weekend, part of a broader 45 million travelers between Thursday, May 21, and Monday, May 25. That would make 2026 the biggest Memorial Day driving weekend on record, and it lands just as gas prices are running at their highest level since 2022. ### What actually changed this year? The big shift is scale. AAA’s new forecast says total Memorial Day travel will top last year’s 44.8 million, and the number going by car — 39.4 million — is also expected to beat 2025. Basically, more people are still choosing the road-trip version of the holiday even with pricier fuel and a crowded calendar. (newsroom.aaa.com) ### Why are so many people still driving? Because driving is still the most flexible option for a long weekend. Memorial Day trips are often short enough that people can leave after work, split costs with family, pack more stuff, and avoid airfare. AAA’s forecast covers trips of at least 50 miles from home, which captures exactly that kind of reachable getaway — beach towns, lake houses, family visits, quick city breaks. (inrix.com) ### When will traffic be worst? The ugly windows are pretty familiar — but sharper when volume hits a record. INRIX says the heaviest congestion should land on Thursday and Friday afternoons, especially from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., when holiday departures mix with regular commuter traffic. Monday afternoon is the other danger zone because return trips stack up at the same time. Sunday should be the lightest day, assuming no crashes or weather disruptions blow up the pattern. (inrix.com) ### So when should people leave? Morning is the play. That’s the simplest takeaway from the INRIX guidance. Leaving early on Thursday or Friday helps drivers get ahead of the commuter wave, and heading home before the late-day push on Monday can shave off the worst delays. The catch is that “early” matters more in and around big metro areas, where congestion tends to spill outward as the day goes on. (newsroom.aaa.com) ### Why does the gas-price piece matter so much? Because this year’s road-trip boom is colliding with a much more expensive fill-up. AAA said on May 7 that the national average for regular gas had climbed to $4.55 a gallon — 25 cents higher for the second straight week, $1.40 above a year earlier, and the highest level since the 2022 spike. So even if more people are driving, they’re doing it in a much less forgiving cost environment. (newsroom.aaa.com) ### Are rentals getting squeezed too? Yes. Hertz told AAA that Thursday and Friday are expected to be the busiest pickup days for the holiday stretch. The highest-demand rental markets are Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, and Boston. That usually means the cheap inventory disappears first, especially for larger vehicles like SUVs that families want for long-weekend trips. (newsroom.aaa.com) ### Is this just a traffic story? Not really — it’s also a stress test for drivers and cars. AAA says it handled more than 350,000 roadside-assistance calls over last Memorial Day weekend, with dead batteries, flat tires, and empty tanks leading the list. More cars on the road means more chances for small maintenance problems to turn into holiday-wrecking delays. (newsroom.aaa.com) ### What’s the bottom line? Memorial Day 2026 looks like a classic American road-trip weekend turned up to maximum volume. More people are driving than ever, the worst traffic windows are already pretty clear, and the extra sting this year is cost — especially at the pump. If you’re going, the advantage goes to people who leave early, book early, and treat the car like part of the plan instead of an afterthought. (newsroom.aaa.com)