Families share their Memorial Day travel experiences

JOPLIN, Mo. — If you’re traveling today for Memorial Day, you could be helping make history.

According to the AAA, more than 43 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home for the holiday.

“If you’re traveling through our state, you’re probably on your way to a vacation. You’re on your way to a destination. You know, we want you to get to your destination safely. So just take your time,” said Corporal Sam Carpenter, Missouri State Highway Patrol.

This Memorial Day, AAA estimates more than 38 million people will hit the roadways, which is a more than 2 million increase from last year’s predictions.

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“Yeah, we obviously see an increase of traffic in the congestion on our highways. We have a lot of people that travel into the areas to enjoy our lakes and rivers, which we have a lot of, and they’re great places to cool off and enjoy the summer,” said Carpenter.

We caught up with the Acousta family, traveling from Texas to Missouri for the first time.

They told us while there was some traffic on the road, starting early helped out a lot.

“We did start early. I’d say it’s been okay. We really love the turnpike coming through that last part of Oklahoma that speed things up quite a bit. Real day does feel like the unofficial start of the summer, and we like to build a lot of family members memories during the summer because our kids are out of school and we like to do road trips as a way to kind of see the country, enjoy our time together,” said Leslie and Annie Acousta, from Dallas Texas.

Missouri resident John Yuckle expects to travel more than 400 miles this Memorial Day to spend some time with family.

“I’m traveling to Kansas to my son and daughter-in-law, see my grandson, and help with some household fixing,” said John Yuckle, Missouri resident.

The “INRIX”, a transportation data company expects traffic to be congested for Memorial Day as many folks are heading home from weekend festivities.

Troopers say it’s best to slow down and pay extra attention to the road.

“That’s the biggest thing I think we can tell people. Is just to be a calm courteous driver. And just to get to your destination and enjoy the activities that you have planned for the day,” said Carpenter.

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