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Holiday traffic on I-95 slows down approaching the overpass of American Legion Road in Stafford County at around 2:30 p.m. yesterday.
SUZANNE CARR ROSSI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

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Traffic by the Numbers
Busiest holiday travel day not so busy
Date published: 11/26/2007

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Wayne and Penny Seipel once drove through St. Martin moments after Hurricane George ripped through the West Indies island.

So the Winchester couple didn't think twice about braving the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday.

"We travel whenever we want to," Penny said.

They became two of the 1.1 million Virginians AAA Mid-Atlantic expected to travel 50 miles or more over the holiday weekend, driving to Myrtle Beach to spend the holiday with some of their grandchildren.

They didn't know what they'd find on the road north yesterday, when many other travelers were expected to head home.

"Fortunately, we have not hit a lot of traffic," Penny said at a Caroline County rest stop along I-95.

The couple left Myrtle Beach, S.C., at noon and hit the rest stop at 6 p.m. They only hit one bad spot, near Richmond, where an accident clogged traffic, they said.

Interviews with travelers at two rest stops along I-95 indicated that through early evening, the traffic wasn't the nightmare many had anticipated.

Ian Wiscovitch and Joshua Barton said they were able to travel at 80 mph for most of their trip from the Virginia Beach area back to George Mason University.

The students said they could have left a day earlier and not chanced traffic, but they wanted to spend more time with their families. They had to slow down to 5 mph near Williamsburg because of an accident on I-64, but said it was pretty much smooth sailing after that.

Sgt. F.L. Tyler, spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, said yesterday was expected to be the busiest travel day, and extra police officers would be working until midnight. As of 6 p.m., there were no major incidents on area roads, he said.

Southbound travelers reported more traffic troubles.

Holly McGonigle, driving from Pennsylvania back home to Ft. Bragg, N.C., was nearly halfway through her trip when she stopped at the Welcome Center near the State Route 3 exit off of I-95.

It had already taken her five hours. She had six to go, and the entire trip typically lasts eight, she said.

"This is the worst it's ever been," said McGonigle, who has made the drive on holiday weekends since 2001.

Once she got near Fredericksburg, the traffic eased some. But it was slow driving until then.

Luckily, her two sons, Scott, who will turn 6 next week, and Thomas, 18 months, and her puppy, an 8-week-old boxer named Duke, were good travelers.

"Just put a DVD in and they're good to go," said McGonigle's mom, Carol Gearhart.

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com


1,160: Traffic crashes Virginia State Police responded to during the 2006 Thanksgiving weekend

75: Percent of Virginia State Police patrol force working this Thanksgiving weekend

1.1 million: Virginians expected to travel 50 miles or more over the holiday

120: Hours between Nov. 21 and midnight Nov. 25, the period the police consider the holiday weekend

Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Transportation



Date published: 11/26/2007



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They can't be that stupid (posted by freedomfirst , Nov. 26, 2007 8:42 pm)    0 likes
They must have given a fake name and place of abode...or they were partaking of some mind altering powders..

what dummies (posted by 1eviltwin , Nov. 26, 2007 10:49 am)    0 likes
he should get a fine for being stupid enough to admit he was doing 80...slap a civil liberties fine on him 3k pay up for being dumb

80 MPH? (posted by werstenz , Nov. 26, 2007 9:26 am)    0 likes
I wasn't aware the speed limit was raised. 20MPH over the speed limit is reckless driving. Thanks for being idiots on the highway!

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