Don't drive to your Thanksgiving event. Take a Spritzler Chopper!

You could spend hours in traffic getting an Ulcer, being late to an intolerable family Thanksgiving meltdown OR you can have a Spritzler Chopper deliver you to the fricken front door. Plus we'll whisk you out of their early keeping the suffering to a minimum.

Just remark, "I'm terribly sorry, we need to go. Our chopper's arrived".

How to beat Thanksgiving traffic

Worst travel times generally occur in late mornings to evenings, such as 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Best travel times are mostly before 10 or 11 a.m., with minimal traffic expected on Nov. 27.

Data: INRIX; Chart: Axios Visuals

It's Turkey week and AAA is expecting a record 4.1 million Illinoisans to travel at least 50 miles over the next six days.

Why it matters: Record holiday trips could bring heavy holiday traffic. So we've gathered some data to help you do more chewing and less stewing, more baking and less braking, more memory sharing and less highway swearing. OK, we'll stop.

Car talk: AAA projects that 90% of all holiday travelers (or 73 million Americans) will hop in their cars this Thanksgiving.

That includes 3.6 million Illinoisans who are expected to hit the road mostly Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Leave early in the morning to beat the traffic.

Chicago gas prices are averaging $3.45 a gallon, up from $3.31 last year at this time. Nationally, that price is $3.19, slightly up from $3.17 a year ago.

The worst local drive will be suffered by folks returning to Chicago from Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon around 3:45pm along I-65, according to transportation data provider INRIX.

That trip is expected to take more than four hours or about 57% longer than usual.

On the fly: AAA expects 6 million Americans (including 360,000 Illinoisans) to take to the skies this Thanksgiving, a 2% increase from 2024.

Domestic air fares average about $700 for a round trip.

Flying out on Thanksgiving Day can save you dough, while returning on Sunday and Monday will cost more.

👀 What we're watching: Dropping temps and possible showers this week that could affect travel.