International politics is making it less expensive to enjoy the American tradition of Thanksgiving this year, at least at the gas pump if not the dinner table.
Gas prices have fallen ahead of the annual holiday, providing cheer for the millions of Americans that AAA says will take to the road to join loved ones for dinner with turkey and all the trimmings.
Oil prices have been on a month-long slide and, in turn, the savings are showing up at the pump.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.62, according to AAA, the North American travel club. While the price is 6 cents higher than a year ago, it is down 22 cents from a month ago.
In Arkansas, the same gallon fetches an average price of $2.38, still higher than the $2.29 that greeted people at the pump a year ago but 24 cents lower than the $2.62 it cost a month ago.
"You've got more money to spend on a bigger turkey," said James Williams, who is an energy analyst and owner of WTRG Economics in Russellville.
He attributed the falling oil prices to an agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Russia more than two months ago to increase supply at a time of lower demand with the end of the summer travel season and before the onset of winter and demand for heating oil increases.
The price of a barrel of the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose 71 cents in trading Monday to close at $57.17.
Williams conceded the low gasoline prices doesn't provide a huge boost to people's wallets, but he said the psychological boost cannot be discounted.
Look no further than the numbers. The 54.3 million travelers that AAA projects to be traveling at least 50 miles from home is the highest in 12 years and 2.5 million, or 4.8 percent, more than last year. AAA defines the Thanksgiving holiday period as starting Wednesday through Sunday.
"Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth," said Bill Sutherland, AAA Travel senior vice president. "This is translating into more travelers kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway, building on a positive year for the travel industry."
Also cooperating this year is the weather.
The National Weather Service's North Little Rock office forecast for Thanksgiving Day is a "cornucopia of good weather."
"Thanksgiving Day is looking dry across the Natural State," according to the office. "The day will start out cold with lows in the 30s. However, abundant sunshine will allow afternoon highs to top out in the mid 50s to the lower 60s."
Roads will be congested, particularly on Sunday, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
"The Sunday after Thanksgiving is generally regarded as the heaviest travel day," said Danny Straessle, the agency spokesman. "People can leave on different days outbound, but they all seem to return the same day."
Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day also tend to be busy on the roads, he said.
Motorists won't encounter too much in the way of road construction over the holidays, according to the agency.
A 7-mile section of Interstate 530 between U.S. 79 and U.S. 65 in Pine Bluff will be down to one lane in each direction and a 1-mile section of Interstate 555 south of Trumann in Poinsett County will be limited to one lane for southbound motorists.
But motorists will be more likely to encounter a law enforcement officer, particularly on Interstate 40.
State troopers from Arkansas and adjoining states will focus enforcement efforts along I-40, said Col. Bill Bryant, the Arkansas State Police commander.
"The Arkansas State Police will partner with several other states, including Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas, in an additional enforcement effort designed to protect motorists along the I-40 corridor," he said. "Each state plans to assign a trooper to every 20 mile segment of Interstate 40 during peak traffic hours."
Thanksgiving is second only to the Fourth of July holiday in terms of traffic deaths, according to the National Safety Council, which released a study Monday showing that Arkansas ranked fifth among the 50 states in the number of fatal car crashes per 100,000 people in the month of November.
On average, the state saw a total of 44 deaths resulting from November car crashes, according to the study. The study ranked North Dakota as the most dangerous state and Rhode Island as the safest.
Though NSC hasn't released it's official 2017 report just yet, its preliminary estimates show that U.S. traffic fatalities decreased by 1 percent from 2016 to 2017. Contrary to many of the top 10 dangerous states we studied, Arkansas' trend is actually better than the national one, with a decrease of 8 percent. Keep up the good work! A particular emphasis will be placed on ensuring motorists are wearing seat belts, which the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration calls the single most effective way to reduce road deaths. Proper use of lap and shoulder belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passengers by 45 percent, according to research.
Arkansas state law requires that all front seat passengers, not just drivers, be buckled up, the state police said in a news release. It requires all children under fifteen years of age to be properly secured in the vehicle. A child who is less than six years of age and who weighs less than sixty pounds shall be restrained in a child safety seat. If the driver has a restricted license, all passengers in the vehicle must be properly buckled up.
No relief from crowds will be found in the skies, either. The trade organization for the nation's major airlines, Airlines for America, predicts a record 30.6 million passengers will fly on U.S. airlines over the 12-day Thanksgiving air travel period, which began Friday and ends Nov. 27.
Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field is no exception. The Transportation Security Administration projected that as many as 4,387 passengers flew out of the state's largest airport Friday.
"Our busiest holiday travel days are typically the Friday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after Thanksgiving," said Shane Carter, the spokesman for Clinton National.
He said 3,949 passengers flew out of the Little Rock airport last year on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, more than 2.7 million travelers are expected to be flying home, according to TSA. On a typical weekday, TSA said it screens about 2.1 million passengers.
A Section on 11/20/2018