KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Millions of Tennesseans travel during the Memorial Day holiday for leisure and recreation, but Patricia Dillinger is on the clock. For the last 34 years, she’s been a truck driver and Memorial Day traffic isn’t something new for her.
"I drive the truck,” Dillinger said. “I mean, I drive it, I get it loaded, I empty it out — which is what I'll be doing tomorrow when I get to Morganton, North Carolina."
Holidays for her mean traffic jams, but because of her experience she knows how to get around. She said for her Memorial Day drive, she woke up at 2 a.m. She said that drivers on the road for Memorial Day should try to take their time and try not to stress out, even if they run into a traffic jam.
"Chill out just take your time,” Dillinger said. “If you run into a traffic jam, quit trying to cut in, we'll let you in. But don't five or six of you try to cut in front of us just because you can."
The Tennessee Department of Transportation stops construction during the Memorial Day holiday to help ease traffic flow. They said drivers should make sure to leave extra room between them and other cars, in case they need to hit the brakes.
The AAA said they expected around 42.3 million people to travel over the Memorial Day holiday, and around 87.6% of them would drive.
Safety is a priority when driving on busy highways and they said drivers should follow speed limits.
“Try to use extra patience and extra caution when you're behind the wheel," Dillinger said. "The most important thing is do not drive distracted. That means no texting and driving, no drinking and driving — you need to concentrate 100% on the task at hand. That's being behind the wheel."
Construction will resume Tuesday morning at 6 a.m., TDOT said. This is the time of the year that construction projects ramp up. Many of their crews on the roadways are working on their long-term resurfacing projects as well. So, there’s usually more activity on roadways, as long as the weather cooperates.
“So if you are going to be driving, please be cognizant that anytime that you see those orange cones and barrels, it's possible that workers are going to be in those areas,” said Mark Nagi, a spokesperson for TDOT.
TDOT’s resource SmartWay traffic system is in place to help drivers by providing real-time information about interstates and state routes across Tennessee. There are also traffic cameras there that give visuals if there are backups.
For Dillinger, road trips are better when she has company. She has two dogs waiting for her in the truck.
All she wants is for traffic to run smoothly on Memorial Day.
"I've got my little min-pin inside and I just rescued his butt," Dillinger said. "Just people need to slow down and be patient and quit being rude."