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The two worst hours to leave Boston by car for Labor Day Weekend in 2018 are the 5 p.m. hour on Thursday and the 4 p.m. hour on Friday, according to an analysis from Drivemode, which bills itself as “the safe-driving app.”
The analysis looked at traffic data from Memorial Day Weekend in late May in 19 large American cities. What it came away with was that the expected extra traffic in places such as Boston, as people head out of town for three-day weekends, will add to driving times.
No surprise there. But what is surprising is the actual amounts of time that Labor Day traffic is expected to add to drives during those particular Thursday and Friday stretches.
During a typical afternoon rush hour in Boston, it takes 2.73 minutes on average to drive one mile. Between 5 and 6 p.m. on Thursday this week—based on Memorial Day Weekend—it’s expected to take more than seven minutes to drive one mile; and from 4 to 5 p.m. on Friday it’s expected to take more than five minutes.
In other words, if you must leave during those hours, plan for the ride taking about twice the usual amount of time, if not more. Cheers.