Oregon Public Broadcasting

AAA is projecting a busy 4th of July on the roads this year. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

The motorists association expects a 17-percent increase in traffic over the holiday weekend -- that's about 35 million travelers or 11 percent of the population.

Marie Dodds of AAA Oregon, she expects the Pacific Region to see a bigger increase than the rest of the nation.

Marie Dodds: "Our area here in the Pacific is not hampered by the horrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Obviously that is impacting tourism to the gulf states and some of those areas are expecting a drop for 4th of July travel."

Fourth of July automobile travel is still expected to be lower than in 2007. That's when AAA says it reached its peak this decade: with 42 million people taking to the roads -- or 13 percent of the population.

The average trip is about 600 miles.