Bay Area commuters hit the road to trek to Thanksgiving dinners

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The holiday rush is still underway as commuters across the Bay Area make the trek to their Thanksgiving dinners.

AAA says millions of Californians will be driving over the next four days and that means more traffic and more potential for trouble.

Doug James and his family are driving from San Jose, about 150 miles north to Cameron Park, near Sacramento. They waited until well after dark on Thanksgiving eve.

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"We always plan to miss the traffic. That's our plan," James said.

Connor Mooldyk isn't traveling until Thursday night.

"We're a little bit worries about it but we're going to be taking some back roads just in case," Mooldyk said.

AAA says more than 5 million Californians will drive to and from their Thanksgiving destination this year, up 3.4 percent from last year.

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"Wednesday night is a getaway night for a lot of folks," said CHP Officer Tom Bowen.

Already, someone has died. A motorcyclist was killed on Highway 101 in San Jose. He was traveling southbound. His body ended up in the northbound lanes.

The CHP has every available officer out on patrol. They're looking to keep people moving and keep everyone safe. They say if you're going to be drinking figure out how to get around without driving.

"But make your plan before you start drinking because once you start drinking you start to lose that ability to make good plans," Bowen said.

Police departments across the Bay Area are cracking down. Fremont police tweeted: "Dedicated DUI enforcement teams will be out on Nov. 23 and 25 from 6 p.m. to 2:30 a.m."

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The CHP says if you see a reckless or impaired driver call 911.

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