After tragedy, Thanksgiving travelers opt to drive home

By Jamie Hsiung
Daily Bruin Contributor

A little more than two months after the worst terrorist attacks
in U.S. history, authorities expect more people than last year will
hit the road when traveling this Thanksgiving holiday.

According to Anne Da Vigo, a California Highway Patrol
spokesperson, Caltrans is expecting a 10-12 percent increase from
last year in the number of cars driving along California
freeways.

“There’s obviously going to be more cars on the road
than usual,” Da Vigo said. “We advise people to leave
as early as they can in order to get to their destination sooner
and safely.”

Amtrack and Greyhound have already experienced ticket sellouts
in the past few weeks, inducing Amtrack to add 75,000 more seats to
all trains across the nation. This has increased its usual capacity
by 15 percent.

In the same fashion, Greyhound buses have added extra sessions
to accommodate the high demand of travelers. Both transportation
companies advise passengers to arrive early at the stations due to
increased security.

Amtrack and Greyhound require photo IDs to purchase tickets and
to board.

Police will be present in the stations and on board Amtrack,
according to Amtrack’s Web site.

Though many are opting to drive rather than fly, the risk per
mile of driving is 37 times higher than for flying, according to
the national Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign.

First-year UCLA student Lynn Wang, who is taking Southwest
Airlines back to the Bay Area for Thanksgiving, said flying is
still safer than driving.

“I’m afraid of flying up to a certain extent,”
she said. “The chance of crashing isn’t very likely
when compared to accidents on the road. The media emphasizes
plane crashes more because people die hundreds at a
time.”

Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a few major
airlines announced that their passengership was about 80 percent of
what it was before the attacks, indicating that many were wary
about flying.

But the recent attacks and crashes leave some UCLA students
unfazed about flying.

Brian Nguyen, a first-year biology student, is determined to
return to the Bay Area by plane.

“I have my Frequent Flyer Miles, for one thing,” he
said. “And for another, the flight’s just an hour
long. They’re not going to highjack a plane from L.A. to San
Jose.”

Andy Issacson, a third-year cognitive science student from
Southern California, doesn’t need to worry about flying.

But even when he is traveling a long distance, he still prefers
driving.

“I’ve always just driven when going up north,”
he said. “Who doesn’t like a road trip?”