Summer of the Road Trip

Grab your sunglasses, a giant cup of coffee and prepare to hit the highway: 2016 is shaping up to be the summer of the road trip.

Cheap fuel prices have left many American families flush with spare cash to spend on a vacation. With summertime gas prices predicted to be the lowest in 13 years, the travel industry is anticipating a blockbuster July and August.

AAA, the large travel agency and car lobbying group, is predicting 38 million people will travel for the Memorial Day Weekend holiday, the most since 2005. That’s 700,000, or 1.9 percent, more travelers than last year.

The overwhelming majority of Memorial Day Weekend travelers — 89 percent — plan to go by car. That’s the highest percent of drivers since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.