Despite the declining costs, fewer Southern Californians will be hitting the roads this Labor Day weekend, opting instead to lounge in their inflatable backyard pools or flip burgers on the grill.
This weekend, holiday travel - which includes driving and flying - is expected to be 1.4percent lower than last year, when the number of Labor Day vacationers rose 1 percent, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
That's partly because even though gas prices have dropped for more than six consecutive weeks - to $3.92 a gallon for regular unleaded in the Los Angeles area - that's still $1.15 a gallon higher than a year ago. "It's been a tough year for gas prices. They're coming down fast. It's great," said Marie Montgomery, spokeswoman for the Auto Club. "But you still see those $4 prices out there."
And those prices, coupled with a sluggish economy and California's 7.3 percent unemployment rate - a 12-year high - have caused many families to think twice about packing up the car and cruising up the coast.
