Making the Turkey Trek? Start Early

Hey, loosen up.

That molasses-like traffic you’re going to hit, those switchback lines at the airport and the gas station, courtesy of Thanksgiving Day--they’re not so bad.

Don’t sneer. This is actually what the Automobile Club of Southern California and some airport types are saying.

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” said Thomas Winfrey, a spokesman for Los Angeles International Airport. “That Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day--that’s an urban legend. We actually transport more people in August and September, per day.”

John Wayne Airport, however, is bracing for a crush of travelers. It handles about 22,000 passengers on a typical Wednesday, but officials are expecting another 5,000 people to board planes today.

The day before Thanksgiving last year, 27,120 passengers flew out of Orange County, airport spokeswoman Ann McCarley said. More leisure travelers are expected, she said, and fewer of the business travelers the airport usually serves.

Orange resident Alice Luchau said she heeds the warnings about heavy traffic, long lines and crowded flights. She never travels on the day before Thanksgiving, she said Tuesday as she boarded a flight for Texas: “I would never plan to do that.”

But she will be coming back Sunday, she admitted.

“Sunday is going to be a real zoo too,” Luchau said. “I’m not looking forward to that.”

Airports, Roads Busiest at Christmas

Auto Club numbers show that, in the air and on the roads, Christmas is by far the busiest travel time nationally, and the Fourth of July comes next, usually followed by Labor Day.

Feel better? Good.

Now, keep in mind that, despite these statistics, traffic this Thanksgiving season is going to be bad, very bad--worse, experts predict, than it was this time last year and the year before. So leave early, plan ahead and get some sleep before you drive.

“Last year, we had double the number of fatalities during Christmas over the previous year, and we couldn’t figure out why,” said Nanci Kramer of the California Highway Patrol. Because Christmas was on a Saturday, she said, many families squeezed holiday activities into the weekend, and ended up exhausted. “We attributed the deaths to sleepy drivers.”

Last year during Thanksgiving, 43 people in California died in collisions, many because of fatigue, Kramer said.

Today through Sunday, more than one in 10 of all the men, women and children in the nation--that’s 38.9 million, a record 2.3 million of them Southern California motorists--will probably travel more than 100 miles from home, said Carol Thorp of the Auto Club. Disneyland is the third-most-popular destination for travelers this weekend, after Las Vegas and San Diego, the club reports.

“The biggest [driving] mistake people make is, they leave too late,” Thorp said. “Then they get caught in maximum traffic, which used to be 2 or 3 p.m. Wednesday. . . . Pretty soon [rush hour] is going to start Tuesday evening.”

All those carpool lane-hoggers and frequent-flier junkies--up 4% over last year--will head out, even though gas prices are up 43 cents per gallon and air fares up 13% over this time last year.

Authorities are thinking up new ways to make movement easier.

LAX officials Tuesday evening offered airport food discounts and one-day free parking to the first 1,000 drivers who parked in two lots a short distance from the airport. Their aim: To get the more than 100,000 drivers who are expected daily to park away from the terminals--and to take free shuttles to their gates.

“We really recommend you have someone drop you off,” Winfrey said. “We need to encourage people to move away from parking at the central terminal. Here’s another reason: It now costs $24 a day.”

At John Wayne Airport, McCarley said, there is a chance that the cheapest parking lot, on Main Street in Irvine, will fill up early.

Finding a space shouldn’t be hard at the terminal parking lots, though, McCarley said. She recommended arriving at least an hour before scheduled departure. To check parking availability at the airport, call (949) 252-5200.

People often park in the pricier lots because they’re running late. Which brings us to a few ingenious tips, courtesy of the CHP--to grease the wheels on your trip.

* Leave early. Please, just do it.

* Let your significant other drive a teeny tiny bit. (Loosely translated from CHP-speak: “Share driving duties.”)

* If you’re driving home Thursday night, skip that after-dinner cocktail.

* Wear a seat belt. The CHP estimates that half of those who die in car accidents would live if they were wearing seat belts.

*

Times staff writer Karima A. Haynes and correspondents Dana Bushee and Carol Chambers contributed to this report.