Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here’s the worst time to hit the road in South Carolina

AAA Carolinas projects that 2.1 million Carolinians will journey 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving, including 700,000 from South Carolina, which means it’s important to plan your Turkey Day departure time to avoid traffic.

The busiest time of travel will be during Wednesday afternoon and into that evening, according to Cpl. Sonny Collins, with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

“Lunchtime through 7 to 8 o’clock late evening will be the heaviest traffic,” Collins said. “Typically the interstate is where we’re gonna see the bulk of the traffic, but the main routes leading in and out of the beach will pick up some too.”

He says if you have no choice but to leave the day before Thanksgiving, to make it as early as possible or drive during the night when less cars are on the road.

“The night times are the best times as far as the least amount of traffic, but that mid-afternoon lunchtime to late afternoon is probably gonna be the worst tomorrow,” Collins explained.

Collins recommends motorists to be prepared for possible stop-and-go traffic in some of the more congested areas.

“If you have small children in your car, have something to entertain them with, because it may take a little longer to get to your destination,” he said. “And if you have any issues on the road or if you see any reckless or impaired driving don’t hesitate to call *HP and let us go and check on that driver.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here’s the worst time to hit the road in South Carolina."