Independence Day travel expected to be highest on record

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Independence Day is an exciting time to get out and travel for many in South Dakota and across the country, but it’s an especially dangerous one as well on the road.

A new study from the car insurance savings app Jerry shows that South Dakota has the second highest traffic deaths per capita over the July holiday period, with 3.04 deaths per 100,000 people over a ten year period from 2012-2021. Only Wyoming has more deaths per capita at 3.64 per 100,000 people. Those statistics come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Those numbers are concerning especially as more people than ever are expected to travel this upcoming holiday. According to AAA, a record 50.7 million people in total are expected to travel for Independence Day, the highest expected number even before the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Dakota, around 156,000 people are expected to travel for the holiday. That’s up by 3.9 percent from last year.

85 percent of those South Dakotans traveling are expected to do so on the road, a total of around 133,000 people. AAA South Dakota spokesperson Shawn Steward said this all comes as the state is in the middle of a busy road construction season, which will lead to congestion on highways as well as more chances for dangerous accidents.

“We anticipate some very busy roadways, especially it being construction season. So you’ve always got lots of orange barrels and closed lanes. Just anticipate that there could be some extra congestion on the roads this coming weekend,” Steward said.

That increase in travel by road is consistent with the overall increase nationwide, with lower gas prices than this time last year helping increase those numbers.

“If you look at this time last year, we had just come off of our all-time record highs at the gas pump. So now, we’re at an average of about $3.45 a gallon, which is $1.30-$1.40 per gallon than where we were a year ago,” Steward said.

With the expected hot weather across South Dakota and much of the country, Steward said they expect to see an increase in breakdowns on the road as well. Last year, AAA responded to around 450 service calls in South Dakota alone during the Independence Day holiday, and he said they expect that to be around the same.

“What we don’t want you to experience is is spending part of your vacation stuck on the side of the road. We strongly emphasize getting your car in and getting it checked by a mechanic,” Steward said.

It won’t just be a busy time on highways and interstates as well this coming weekend. Air travel nationwide is expected to be up 11.2 percent from last year as well. With the ongoing shortage of airline pilots and air traffic controllers, the chances for delays and cancellations are expected to be up with or without the threat of weather.

“We see some of the issues still going on with airports, with staffing, with air traffic control. So there’s the risk of being very busy at the airports,” Steward said.

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