Christmas is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and the Automobile Club of Southern California says more people are hitting the road the day before Christmas.
Across the country, AAA predicts 89 million people will drive at least 60 miles from home during the holidays.
Falling gas prices are giving cars the edge over planes and trains. San Diego's average price for unleaded is $2.69 a gallon, nearly a dollar lower than it was a year ago, and the lowest its been since 2009, according to AAA.
GasBuddy, a smartphone app, says the cheapest gas in the county on Christmas Eve was at a Costco station near Market Street in southeastern San Diego. The line of cars waiting for the pumps snaked out of the parking lot and around the corner.
Customer Yvonne Jackson said lower gas prices help with the little things, like getting more gifts for the family this Christmas.
"Whatever you need to do, you have a little more money to do it," she said. "So, I can appreciate that."
Rolando Regino just drove his SUV back from California's Central Valley with his family.
"I'm retired Navy, so we sometimes go to the base, but it’s cheaper here," he said. "So we’re just here, and getting ready to take my brother who's visiting from Texas to the Midway Museum."
AAA says the current slide in gas prices is the longest one ever, and prices are expected to keep dropping. A report by the University of Michigan says falling prices are one factor boosting consumer confidence to its highest point in eight years.
