RICHMOND, Va. — Memorial Day is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts nearly 35 million people or 90% of total travelers will drive to their holiday destinations.
Hopefully, AAA Richmond Fleet Lead Driver Daniel Crawford will not visit your car as you race to your long-anticipated vacation.
“Batteries are mostly what I run into,” Crawford recalled. “We do tires, lockouts, gas calls, but a majority of them are battery calls.”
Currently, Virginians are paying $1.05 more for a gallon of gas than they did just three months ago. Families are forecasted to hit the roads again in huge numbers despite gas prices higher than ever before.
Some of those families may be embarking on their first vacation since the pandemic started.
Crawford encourages drivers to take their car to a AAA shop or their local mechanic prior to their trip. He said the weather extremes - very cold and very hot - wreak havoc on your car’s battery and could put it out of commission before your vacation even starts.
“Have their battery checked, fluids checked, tires checked,” he stated. “Get a good once over to make sure they get to where they’re going.”
AAA expects more than 5,000 of their Virginia members to run into some sort of car issue Memorial Day weekend.
“If you have to see me then something didn’t go right,” Crawford said. “It makes the trip a lot easier if you do the preventative maintenance versus having to deal with it on the side of the highway.”
AAA also recommends you stock your vehicle with a summer emergency kit:
- Fully charged cell phone and car charger
- First-aid kit
- Blanket
- Flashlight with extra fresh batteries
- Rags, paper towels or pre-moistened wipes
- Emergency warning devices such as road flares or reflectors
- Jumper cables
- Drinking water/snacks for everyone in the car including pets
