November 23, 2021 - Middletown, PA
With the busy holiday travel period just around the corner, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) came together outside of PTC's headquarters in Harrisburg to remind drivers of the importance of safe driving and consistent seat belt use.The Pennsylvania Turnpike expects Thanksgiving to be the busiest travel holiday of the year with 3.15 million motorists traveling during the six-day period starting today and ending on Sunday. The periods of heaviest traffic will be 3:00 to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 23 and Wednesday, November 24. Thanksgiving Day is when traffic will be at its lightest. Overall, holiday traffic is up 39 percent over the same travel period last year; however, traffic is still down 9 percent from 2019 holiday traffic volumes prior to the pandemic."With traffic returning to heavier volumes and travelers happily focused on holiday visiting, it's critical to keep safety top of mind while driving to your destination," said PA Turnpike Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey. "In addition to these significantly higher traffic volumes, motorists are decidedly more distracted as they return to the roadway and will need to be more vigilant for traffic incidents. Be prepared for volume related slowdowns, disabled vehicles, and other roadway obstructions. Also, please remember to slow down and move over for vehicles on the shoulder such as law enforcement, turnpike first responders, and fire and EMS personnel. Give yourself plenty of extra time to arrive at your destination. Be patient and share the road with all who are travelling this holiday weekend."
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