The best and worst times to drive around Thanksgiving, according to Waze

If you're one of the millions of Americans who will be traveling to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family, you may want to save the driving for Thanksgiving day.

According to Waze, the Google-owned GPS navigation app, Thanksgiving day is the best day to drive around the holiday to avoid traffic and congestion.

Waze, which has years of traffic data, predicts that traffic patterns on that day will be similar to those a typical weekend — relatively quiet in the morning, with an increase of vehicles between noon and 4 p.m.

If possible, you're going to want to avoid driving on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. 

But if you have to drive, try to do it early in the morning. Waze predicts that on Tuesday, November 24, traffic will peak in the late afternoon and evening (between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.). The next day, traffic will start getting heavy at 11 a.m. and last throughout the day.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, according to Waze, is also predicted to have heavy traffic. Rush hour will peak between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., but it'll start as early as 10 a.m.

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