Your Best Bet For Holiday Travel Traffic

Over the river and through the woods for the holiday?  Google says they can get you there.  If you're planning to travel somewhere to enjoy the rocket's red glare you might be in for a long car ride. However, Google has developed an interactive tool that can tell you the best time to hit the road in order to avoid as much traffic as possible.

The tech giant used data collected from last year's Fourth of July traffic to create graphs depicting the best times to avoid traffic during the Independence Day period-which they define as July 3rd through July 6th.

Generally, if you're heading out of town to celebrate, the best time to leave is before workday traffic begins on July 3rd. Your best bet is to drive either early in the morning, or late at night. If you're driving on the actual holiday, you should leave your home between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. to minimize time spent in traffic, and if you want the easiest ride home you'll want to hang around after fireworks until 11 p.m.

Avoid being on the roads during mid-afternoon, and if you really want the best trip possible, don't come home until July 5th or July 6th. (For specific information about your area, visit Google's "Independence Day Traffic" page here: http://bit.ly

Whatever you do, stay alert, drive defensively, buckle up and take your time because there many more good times to come as the second half of 2018 unfolds.