Labor Day is one of the busiest travel days of the year and is very popular with road trippers. According to a new study, these are the worst times of day to start your Labor Day road trip!
If you’ve ever started that long-awaited road trip only to have it grind to an immediate halt as you and the family find yourself at several hours of gridlock – all the while seething – you know how frustrating road trip traffic can be.
With Labor Day being one of the most popular travel days of the year, millions of Americans will be hitting the road this weekend – and many already have. Moreover, with the rise of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus many folks are opting for road trips instead of air travel as means to stay a little safer. This means more traffic. Yuck!
According to reporting by USA Today, who interviewed transportation firm INRIX, there are definitely some travel times you want to avoid when embarking on a road trip. These times are popular with other fellow road trippers and are almost certainly going to result in you sitting in a heap of traffic with fellow irritated drivers – especially if you live in a major metropolitan area.
| Travel Day | Worst Time | Best Time |
| Thursday | 1pm – 9pm | after 9pm |
| Friday | 12pm – 8:30pm | before 10am |
| Saturday | 12pm – 5pm | before 11am |
| Sunday | 12pm – 4pm | before 10am |
| Monday | 1pm – 5pm | before 11am |
| Tuesday | 2 – 9pm | after 9pm |
With the CDC’s recent reminder that unvaccinated travelers should just stay home this weekend, INRIX is predicting that Labor Day travel will be muted somewhat this year which could mean less traffic than other Labor Day holidays, but for some metro areas this won’t be the case.
For our family, we have fully switched to the “travel late at night model.” Indeed, after several years of fighting my wife on the idea of leaving late at night or early in the morning I finally conceded that she was indeed right. Now, we never leave our Southern California home any earlier than 10pm or any later than 6am whenever we are heading out of state in the car. The kiddos stay zonked and the travel is demonstrably less busy. It’s now the ONLY way we travel. (Yes honey, you were right!).
Good luck to all of you Labor Day travelers. Be sure to check out our guide to the best road trip gadgets before you go. Stay safe and enjoy the holiday!
Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may also earn commissions from other affiliate programs as applicable.
