Here’s a fact: The days leading up to Thanksgiving are some of the worst travel days of the year—which is why you should be prepared.  The American Automobile Association (AAA) projects that “79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period,” according to an official press release. That’s actually a 1.7-million-person increase from last year—and a growth of two million from 2019! So what does that mean for us in L.A. specifically? Well, try to stay calm, we suppose. But beyond that, you can try to minimize the impact of the expected traffic by avoiding the road when it’s predicted to be most crowded. We’re here to help with just that, so that you don’t get stuck in that inevitable holiday backup on the 405 that every news chopper covers. Overall, the most congested holiday route, according to AAA, is expected to be the northbound 5 freeway from Los Angeles to Bakersfield. The area will likely get most crowded this Wednesday, November 27, at 7:45pm, when it will take you about three hours and 49 minutes to complete the journey (a 111% increase compared to the usual time it should take you). According to the Auto Club, though, local travel should otherwise hit its peak tomorrow, Tuesday, November 26, from 1 through 7pm, as reported by NBC Los Angeles—so you might want to stay off the road then as well. Needless to say, coming back into L.A. on Sunday will be a crowded affair as well, so aiming to leave early in the morning might be the best move. Keep in mind that if you wait to embark on your return until Monday, you’ll likely encounter a mix of both Thanksgiving travelers and work commuters. The moral of the story is that, no matter what, you are likely going to encounter some traffic when heading out of and into town this weekend—which you’re probably already used to. This can be a tense holiday for plenty of folks, so just keep your cool and try not to let traffic get in the way of you and a bit of relaxation. Happy Thanksgiving!