TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Before you sit down for that Thanksgiving feast—-you may have a long drive ahead. There are some new ways to reduce travel hassles.
Every driver down there on I-10 has their own unique story but for a lot of them, the story includes a lengthy drive to celebrate Thanksgiving. But if you have not left yet, here are some ways to make the drive easier.
When it’s time to travel, some people just go—- and some put in some planning to help the trip go smoothly.
Thomas Eisenmann is one of the drivers who does plan ahead.
“We did watch the news this morning. There was an accident. So otherwise we would have been gone a lot earlier this morning. And because of that it delayed our time leaving Sierra Vista today.”
And there are better tools now to help drivers avoid rolling right into a wreck or a back up.
The Arizona Department of Transportation has an information center that tracks conditions on roads ADOT manages.
That information feeds into an interactive map at az511.gov. It displays wrecks, slow traffic and construction.
There’s a free phone app called AZ511 that gives directions, reports road conditions along your route and lets you see traffic cameras.
Garin Groff of ADOT says the app warnings give you a chance to find an exit before you’re trapped in a backup. But he says don’t let all the app features make you a distracted driver.
“You know, we ask that you know its passengers only or you pull off to the side of the road to check your phone. You know, you need to pay attention to that highway because driver inattention is a big contributor to crashes.”
Gabriel Cervantes and his family flew to California, but now he’s partly through a long drive home to El Paso.
Reporter Craig Smith asked: “What do you wish those other drivers would keep in mind?”
Cervantes: “ To be safe and to keep an eye out. Keep your eyes on the road, always, and be courteous to other people.”
Another way ADOT helps with holiday traffic is they make a point of suspending all of ADOT’s road construction over the holiday period. Even if there are no workers you may find spots where there are still barricades because it’s not always practical to remove them for just a few days.
