AAA: More Americans projected to travel for Thanksgiving

More Americans are expected to hit the road for Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA.

Travel from Wednesday to Sunday is projected to reach the highest level since 2007. A stable economy, rising disposable income and low gas prices all favor hitting the road for the holiday.

'This Thanksgiving, more Americans will carve out time to visit friends and family since 2007,” Marshall Doney, AAA president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. The travel company estimates 46.9 million Americans will go at least 50 miles or more for the holiday. The travel numbers are projected to be up 300,000 or .6 percent compared to last year. It would be the seventh year of increases, according to the organization.

Most travelers - 89 percent, or 42 million - will drive to their destination. That is up .7 percent compared to last year, according to AAA. Air travel also expected to be up a tick, to 3.6 million.

Other modes, including trains and buses, should be down 1.4 percent to 1.4 million, according to AAA.

Gas prices are projected to drop below $2 per gallon on average nationally by Thanksgiving, the lowest price point for this time of year since 2009, according to GasBuddy.com. In Iowa, fuel at many gas stations already has dipped below $2. That's about 75 cents lower than a year ago.

AAA estimates Americans are saving $265 million a day compared to a year ago because of lower gas prices.

With all the extra people on the road, groups such as the National Coalition for Safer Roads are urging people to be more aware of travel risks - speeding, drowsy driving and drunken driving.

AAA estimates that it will come to the aid of more than 360,000 motorists during Thanksgiving weekend, primarily with dead batteries, flat tires and lockouts. The organizations is urging drivers to check their car battery and tires.

The Governor's Highway Safety Association released a report Monday in which it said travelers should be aware of the risk of passengers being unbuckled in the back seat as they hit the road for the holiday.

'Families traveling together at the holidays often means adults sitting in rear seats, where they may not be accustomed to buckling up in the same way they are when the get in the driver's seat,” James Hedlund, the report's author, said in a news release.

The National Safety Council estimates more than 400 traffic fatalities during the Thanksgiving travel period.