Nearly 3 million North Carolinians are expected to hit the road for the holidays, which AAA Carolinas said would be a record-breaking number.

In addition to the roadways, nearly 300,000 North Carolinians will be traveling via airplane, train or bus.

The organization said those overall figures would represent an increase of more than four percent over last year and the most since AAA Carolinas has been tracking holiday travel.

For those on the roads, gas prices are at their lowest point in 2018 and down from the holiday travel period last year. Gas prices averaged $2.27 as of December 14.

To avoid the crowds as much as possible, AAA advised motorists to generally avoid typical commuting times and that if you can travel on Christmas Day itself, there are typically fewer travelers out and about.

There were more than 2,200 crashes last year over the holidays, according to AAA, which resulted in five fatalities. The Booze It and Lose It campaign will be underway with law enforcement officials across North Carolina through the holidays.

State transportation officials typically suspend major construction projects across the state in an effort to alleviate additional delays.

The holiday travel period runs from Saturday through Tuesday, January 1.

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