SWFL travelers hit the roads on a quiet Christmas commute

The stores may be closed, but gas stations like Love’s in North Fort Myers are getting a lot of business. We caught up with travelers Wednesday who say they purposely hit the road Christmas Day to avoid the traffic.

It’s an unusual day for Joseph Riconeno. He’s on his way to Miami from the West Coast. He said he usually travels before the holidays until he took some advice from a friend.

“She always travels on the holiday. I said, ‘Why do you do that?’ She goes, ‘There’s not much traffic,’ and she’s right, there’s not much traffic,” Riconeno said.

Other travelers have followed suit.

Throughout the day, pumps at the Love’s gas station were filled with people filling up before heading out, like Jim Ohalla who traveled all the way from Indiana to spend Christmas camping in Fort Myers.

He says the roads were surprisingly clear.

“It’s a breeze traveling on this I-75 where I anticipated it would be really clogged because it’s the main drag north and south,” he said.

AAA says nearly 116 million people will travel this holiday season. of that, 104 million will travel by car—that’s almost 4 million people more than last year, which was the most on record for a year-end holiday.

Halfway to Miami, Riconeno just hopes the traffic flow stays steady so he can enjoy his holiday plans.

“I’m going to go right by the beach have a nice lunch and just relax,” he said.

Although traffic is running smoothly, AAA says you can expect the worst delays on Dec. 26, so plan to leave early.