Thursday is expected to be among the busiest travel days on the road ahead of the holiday weekend.
AAA expects Memorial Day weekend to be another record-setter when it comes to travel with 45 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles from home.
Spokesperson Brynna Knapp says it's the smallest year-over-year growth for Memorial Day weekend travel in over a decade.
"So, our growth is tapering off, and surely that has to do with increasing fuel prices," Knapp explains. "We're seeing people are still choosing to travel, but maybe picking a shorter trip or delaying their travel to later in the summer. Or staying closer to home."
Despite those rising gas prices, driving remains the top travel method headed into the weekend.
"Last year, over the Memorial Day period, we answered over 2,600 calls, emergency roadside calls during the Memorial Day weekend," Knapp adds.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil climbed 2.1% to $107.26 and trimmed its loss for the week. Oil prices have been swinging up and down with uncertainty about how long the war with Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, which is preventing oil tankers from exiting the Persian Gulf to deliver crude.
"Last week, we saw about a 5-cent drop in the national average," Knapp said. "It peaked back up a couple of cents over the weekend, but it did just go down again, 1cent this week. So, we're seeing some movement there, and going down is certainly good news. So we'll see how pricing tapers off into the summer months."
