A higher proportion of American drivers admit to speeding, driving distracted and engaging in other risky behaviors than those who steadfastly follow the rules of the road, according to the latest AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index.

The report, updated annually by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, measures the public’s attitude on the roadway by asking drivers about their perceived level of danger for various driving behaviors, with most drivers saying unsafe driving behaviors are very or extremely dangerous. Yet, many have admitted to engaging in these dangerous behaviors at least once in the previous 30 days.

For example, while 93% of drivers identified hand-held phone use as an extremely risky behavior, more than a third admitted to reading a text or email or holding a phone while driving over the previous 30 days.

In 2023, nearly 41,000 people were killed in U.S. traffic crashes, a sobering reminder of the ongoing public health crisis on our roads. Despite a slight decrease from the previous year, the threat posed by risky driving behaviors remains alarmingly high.

The new report illuminates this issue by categorizing drivers based on their self-reported risky behaviors. Speeding, distracted driving and aggressive driving emerged as the most prevalent dangerous habits.

Key Findings

Distracted Driving

• Most drivers (93%) recognize the dangers of texting, emailing and reading while driving.
• However, 27% of drivers reported sending a text/email while driving; 37% read a text/email; and 36% spoke on a hand-held phone while driving in the previous 30 days.

Aggressive Driving and Speeding

• Most drivers (89%) perceive aggressive driving as dangerous and 81% said the same about running red lights. Yet 27% ran at least one red light in the previous 30 days.
• And nearly half (49%) admitted to driving 15 mph over the posted speed limit on a freeway at least once in the previous 30 days, while 36% of drivers reported driving 10 mph over the posted speed limit on a residential street.

Drowsy Driving

• Most drivers (96%) recognize the dangers of drowsy driving.
• However, 20% admitted to driving while drowsy in the previous 30 days.

Impaired Driving

• Drivers overwhelmingly perceive drunk driving as dangerous (95%) and socially unacceptable. Yet 7% admitted to engaging in this behavior in the previous 30 days.
• By comparison, only 70% of drivers felt that it was very or extremely dangerous to drive within an hour of using cannabis, and 6% reported having done it in the previous 30 days.

Driver Profiles

The survey identified five distinct driver profiles.

1. Safe Drivers: Rarely engage in risky behaviors – 34.9%.
2. Distracted Drivers: Primarily engage in all distracted driving behaviors – 19%.
3. Speeding Drivers: Primarily engage in speeding behaviors – 32.6%.
4. Distracted and Aggressive Drivers: Engage in distracted and aggressive driving – 11%.
5. Most Dangerous Drivers: Engage in all risky driving behaviors – 2.5%.

“The survey’s findings highlight just how prevalent speeding is, especially among drivers who take other risks behind the wheel,” said Jillian Young, Director of Public Relations, AAA Northeast. “Enforcement, community outreach and education continue to be absolutely critical to curbing a wide range of risky driving behaviors and ultimately lowering the number of traffic crash fatalities in the U.S.”

The AAA Foundation’s annual TSCI survey has been a decade-long deep dive into driver behavior. As traffic dangers rise, the latest TSCI offers crucial insights into driver attitudes and risky habits, guiding the development of life-saving safety measures. Please refer to the full TSCI for data collection methodology and limitations.

Life insurance scams happen every day, and becoming a victim can be costly and life changing. The FBI estimates that the total cost of non-health insurance fraud is more than $40 billion per year. (Read about car insurance scams here.)  

If you are in the process of taking out a life insurance policy, updating an existing policy or have been contacted about an existing or new policy, understanding these scams is crucial to avoid becoming a victim. Read on to learn the different ways scam artists try to trick you and the best ways to determine whether something is legit.

Types of Life Insurance Scams

Life insurance scams can occur over the phone, by email and even through social media. In each medium, the scammer will target unsuspecting people by impersonating legitimate agents of well-known insurance companies.

With social media becoming a more popular way for people to learn about and connect with life insurance agents, it’s important to be wary of common misconceptions and misinformation.

“Agents advertising concepts like ‘infinite banking’ or ‘being your own bank’ to get rich can be misleading,” warned Timothy Ferreira, Life and Annuity Manager at AAA Northeast. “They can lure you into purchasing very costly insurance policies that may not fit your needs and primarily benefit the agent in the form of big commissions.”

In a phone scam, a scammer may call you claiming there is an urgent need to buy or update a life insurance policy. They may use high-pressure tactics, offering bogus special rates for a limited time.

Email scams operate in a similar way, but with additional tricks. In this scenario, scammers may send emails that appear to come from reputable insurance companies – even using logos and email addresses that look genuine. These emails may contain links to fake websites that look official at a passing glance.

In both phone and email life insurance scams, the main goal is to steal personal and financial information, so it’s essential to verify the source of any unsolicited life insurance offers by contacting the insurance company directly.

Is There a AAA Life Insurance Scam?

We are currently unaware of any scams that impersonate AAA Northeast life insurance agents. If you are ever unsure, we encourage you to reach out to us to verify any correspondence.

How To Spot Life Insurance Scams

While scammers are getting better at hiding their tracks, there are certain red flags that can help to quickly identify if something is a scam.

One of the first signs you’ll recognize is feeling pressured to act quickly and impulsively. Scammers often use tactics that create a sense of urgency to get you to agree on the spot. Legitimate insurance agents will give you time to review and consider your options without pushing you into a decision.

Suspicious contact methods can also be warning signs. “While purchasing life insurance over the phone is commonplace today,” Ferreira said, “being called by a non-business phone number should raise a red flag.” The same goes for email: If you are contacted from a personal email address rather than one associated with a recognized insurance company, it is likely a scam.

Preventive Measures

There are a few things you can do to protect yourself a life insurance scam:

• Ask for the insurance company’s website and use its search function to look up the agent you’re in contact with.
• Search for the agent’s license number on your state’s Department of Business Regulation website. If they appear, it will indicate that the person is authorized to sell life insurance.
• Avoid high-pressure sales and be skeptical of agents pushing you to buy quickly without explanation or alternatives.
• Make sure you understand your policy by thoroughly reading over the terms, premiums, coverage and exclusions.

Support For Life Insurance Scam Victims

If you have been a victim of a life insurance fraud, contact your state insurance agency.

Connecticut – Phone: 860-297-3800; website

Massachusetts – Phone: 617-521-7794; website

New Hampshire – Hotline: 800-852-3416; Phone: 603-271-2261; website

New Jersey – Hotline: 800-446-7467; Phone: 609-292-7272; website

New York – Hotline: 888-372-8369; website

Rhode Island – Phone: 401-462-9520; website

Licensed AAA life insurance agents are available to support AAA members in branch offices. Learn more.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” emanates from every speaker in the Western world, mall parking lots turn into scenes of winter chaos, greeting cards flood mailboxes and everything becomes gingerbread- or peppermint-flavored.

These are all telltale signs the holidays are near.

But there’s one other sound, or should we say jingle, that comes around once a year, signaling the start of the holiday shopping season: “The Hess truck’s back and it’s better than ever!”

The Hess Corporation has released a new toy truck just in time for the holidays every year since 1964. What started as a simple gesture of gratitude toward customers has grown into one of the most iconic and collectible toys to ever hit the market.

But how did the Hess truck come about in the first place? For that answer, we’ll have to travel back nearly a century.

The Origins of the Hess Truck

In 1933, recent high school graduate Leon Hess purchased a used oil delivery truck and began his own business delivering fuel to homes in Asbury Park, N.J. By 1964, he had a burgeoning empire of gas stations to his name. That winter, Hess wanted to offer his customers a gift as a sign of goodwill. He started selling toy trucks at Hess gas stations that would be both affordable and suitable for kids of all ages.

The original 1964 Hess truck, a replica of the company’s first B61 tanker, was well ahead of its time compared to other toys of the day. Hess was adamant the toy be made with the highest craftsmanship. The truck featured an empty cargo tank that could be filled using an accompanying funnel and rubber hose, as well as working headlights and taillights. The toy even came with batteries to make it more affordable for parents.

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The Hess Truck Jingle

For the next 15 years, the Hess truck was sold each holiday season without the aid of major marketing efforts. That all changed in 1980 when the company released its first television commercial. A few years later, in 1988, it came up with a jingle to accompany the ads. The now iconic “The Hess truck’s back and it’s better than ever” tune, which has been used ever since, is an adapted version of the hit 1963 song, “My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Angels.

In 2014, the Hess company sold its 1,200-plus retail gas stations to Speedway. Many thought this would mean the end of the line for the trucks. Hess, however, quickly eased those concerns by announcing the tradition would continue with its 50^th anniversary truck. Since then, the toy has only been available online. The transition hasn’t hurt business, as the truck is one of the bestselling toys on the internet, according to Hess.

Hess Trucks Through the Years

For nearly a quarter-century, every Hess toy truck was modeled after an actual vehicle in the Hess fleet. This included different versions of fuel tankers and replicas of Leon Hess’s original oil delivery truck. There were also some outside-the-box toys sold during this time. In 1966, the company released the Hess Voyager, a replica of a real Hess oil tanker ship. Four years later came the first Hess fire truck, designed after the one used at the company’s Port Reading, N.J., oil refinery. Maybe the most surprising addition to the Hess toy lineup came in 1981 with the arrival of the Hess training van. This toy was modeled after the GMC Royal Motorhome Hess used to conduct field training lessons.

These early releases differed from today’s toys in another way as well: they were not always one and done. Nowadays, Hess releases a brand-new model of its iconic toy each year, but that wasn’t always the case. The company sold the same tanker-trailer in 1964 and ’65. It doubled up again later that decade by selling a slightly modified tanker truck from 1968-69 and again in 1972 and 1974. Hess sold its first fire truck in consecutive years to kick off the 1970s, as well as a modified one in 1986. The company also brought back the toy replica of Leon Hess’s original delivery truck in 1982 and 1983.

Recent Hess Trucks

It wasn’t until 1988 that Hess released a toy not based on one of its vehicles. That year, the company debuted a combination trailer truck and GT-style race car. These vehicles were also the first to come with license plates inscribed with the year of issue, while the friction-powered race car was the first Hess toy with a motor.

Since the late 1980s, the Hess toy lineup has grown to include just about every type of vehicle imaginable. In 1993, it was a police car. Two years later, a helicopter. Closing out the decade was an RV with dune buggy and motorcycle in 1998 and a space shuttle in 1999. This century, Hess has created everything from tow and dump trucks to jet fighters and monster trucks. In 2024 the toy celebrates its 60th anniversary with a three-piece fire truck, car and motorcycle. Continuing its educational giving program, this year Hess will donate approximately 10,000 toy trucks to classrooms across the country with the newest edition of a STEM curriculum guide.

The Hess toy truck has been released every year since 1964 with three notable exceptions. Ironically, gasoline was a main culprit in each instance. In 1973, the U.S. found itself mired in an oil embargo. The astronomical gas prices made manufacturing toys extremely expensive, prohibiting Hess from releasing a new truck that year. Later that decade, the country was again hit with a fuel shortage, this time in the form of the 1979 oil crisis. This prevented Hess from making a toy for the second time. The last year a new Hess truck was not unveiled was 1981, when the country entered a recession. It was a time marked by supply shortages and inflated prices, not ideal circumstances for manufacturing. During those years, gas consumption was discouraged. This meant fewer customers visiting Hess gas stations, the only places where the toy trucks were sold. It simply wouldn’t have been a good business decision to release new toys knowing fewer people would come across them.

How Hess Trucks Are Made

Children’s toys may look simple, but – at least when it comes to the Hess trucks – the process of creating and building them is anything but.

Hess doesn’t give too many clues into what it refers to as the “secretive process” of developing its annual toy. But we do know it usually takes two to three years to get the collectibles from the drawing board to the shelves. However, it’s been known to take up to six years in some cases.

The process begins with a collection of images to narrow down a possible theme. Then some initial sketches are drawn up. The top two or three of these designs are chosen and developed into 3D rotating images. Finally, handcrafted models are built, and final design decisions are made.

Hess trucks have always been well ahead of their time when it comes to quality and craftsmanship. Early models comprised about 75 different pieces. Today’s models have anywhere between 200 to 300 pieces, each one precisely cut. Once the pieces are made, the toy is meticulously assembled and undergoes numerous quality tests before being packed in its box and shipped to your doorstep.

Do you collect holiday Hess trucks? Tell us in the comments. 

For more stories like this, visit our auto history page.

This article has been updated and republished from a previous version.

When it comes to Christmas trees, there are people who favor fake trees, real tree purists and those who prefer to choose and chop their tree from a Christmas tree farm.

The question of where to cut your own Christmas tree is an easy one to answer. There are Christmas tree farms throughout the Northeast, where conifers of various varieties, shapes and sizes are planted and nurtured, destined to become the glittery holiday centerpiece of someone’s home. If not every year (although it is prime tradition-making material), you should try it at least once for the adventure if you can.

What are the benefits of cutting down your own tree? For one, they are fresher; the branches are a bit springier, their fragrance brighter and they’ll generally last longer. And of course, there are the bragging rights that come with playing lumberjack and cutting and hauling out your chosen evergreen with your own two hands. It also feels more Christmassy than the Home Depot parking lot.

If any of the above sounds good, take a look at these 10 Northeast Christmas tree farms. Most open right after Thanksgiving.

Scroll down to play our Christmas tree word search.

Before Heading to the Christmas Tree Farm …

• Get out the tape measure. Measure the spot that you would like to put your tree and the height of the ceiling to know how tall or wide of a tree your house can accommodate.

• Consider which type of tree is best for you. If you would like your house to be filled with the Christmassy scent of pine, try a Douglas fir. If you have a lot of heavy ornaments, pick a tree with sturdier branches like a Colorado blue spruce and avoid varieties like the white pine, which has very soft needles. If you want branches with good fragrance that are just as great at ornament holding, you can’t go wrong with a balsam or Fraser fir.

• Call the farm ahead of time. Make sure the farm still has plenty of cut-your-own trees available, especially if you go toward the end of the season. You can also call ahead to make sure if the farm is pet-friendly or if saws are provided. Most Christmas tree farms allow you to bring your own hand saw. Power tools are not typically permitted for safety reasons.

Cut-Your-Own Christmas Tree Farms

Check websites for seasonal schedules and pricing. Call ahead for closings due to inclement weather.

Maple Row Farm
Easton, Conn.

Maple Row Farm has been in business since 1769, but that doesn’t mean they don’t keep up with the times. The farm’s app will help you navigate the grounds and find the perfect tree for your family from the wide assortment available. Pet the oxen, enjoy a hayride and relax while browsing for wreaths and other holiday accessories. Bonuses: Dog-friendly, tailgating is permitted and saws are provided. 

Greenwood Tree Farm
Billerica, Mass.

Selling mostly Fraser and balsam fir, this small family Christmas tree farm is a charming little operation for the holidays. While the staff helps to load your tree onto your car, warm up in the barn with local apple cider and samples of honey from their honey bee farm. Before you leave, browse the Christmas gift shop or visit the decoration station at the farm stand to get a wreath or kissing ball customized to your liking.

Vandervalk Farm & Winery
Mendon, Mass.

Balsam and Fraser fir trees are available for cutting on a first-come, first-served basis (no tagging or reserving in advance), along with plenty of pre-cut fresh trees. Free services include tree shaking, wrapping, twine, apple cider, snacks and cute picture spots. Warm up by the fire in the Christmas barn, which also sells holiday goods and decorations. And afterwards, don’t miss your opportunity to stop in for a tasting of Vandervalk’s blueberry and fruit wines, handcrafted in small batches from the farm’s own blueberries.

Noel’s Tree Farm
Litchfield, N.H.

Whether you cut your own tree or buy pre-cut, the family that own Noel’s tree farm puts in a lot of love, tending to their trees throughout the year to make sure that you have a perfect-looking selection to pick from come Christmastime. Other decorations like wreaths and roping are also available in many shapes and sizes. Bow saws are supplied and leashed dogs are welcome.

The Rocks Estate
Bethlehem, N.H.

As the North Country Conservation and Education Center for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the Rocks Estate has been growing Christmas trees for over 35 years. It is known as a holiday destination, complete with caroling, horse-drawn wagon rides and marshmallows roasted on an open fire. Visitors can wander through the historic property and search row upon row to find and cut down their ideal evergreen. Free tree wrapping and car loading is provided.

Evergreen Valley Christmas Tree Farm
Washington, N.J.

Wander rows of over 10,000 trees surrounded by mountain views at this 145-acre Christmas tree farm in Warren County, just a short drive from both New York and Pennsylvania. Bring your own saw or borrow one from the farm. Staff is also on hand to cut your tree for you if you would like.

Wyckoff’s Christmas Tree Farm
Belvidere, N.J.

Wyckoff’s has been in business for over 60 years and has been an official Christmas tree supplier to the White House. There are over 5,000 cut-your-own trees waiting to be selected at the farm, as well as fresh pre-cut trees, wreaths, pine roping and blankets available for purchase. For those looking for something a little funkier this holiday season, Wycoff’s also has painted trees in a variety of colors. Hand saws are provided, along with extra services such as putting your tree on a “tree shaker” to rid the tree of stray needles, wrapping it for better transport and drilling a hole at the base for pin stands. Visit the holiday barn for gifts and decor.

Elwood Christmas Tree Farm
Huntington, N.Y.

For a quiet tree cutting experience, head to this 20-acre Long Island farm. Bring your own saw or they will cut your chosen tree for you. The staff will also tie your tree to your car without extra charge.

Battenfeld’s Christmas Tree Farm
Red Hook, N.Y.

Enjoy an old-fashioned Christmas in the country at Battenfeld’s family farm. Choose and cut your own Christmas tree from six different varieties. A one-stop shop for all of your holiday decorating, the farm also has an assortment of individually handmade wreaths ornamented with all-natural embellishments and a Christmas shop for gifts. Saws are provided and leashed dogs are welcome. Handsaws are available to rent for $10 or purchase for $15.

Big John Leyden’s Christmas Tree Farm
West Greenwich, R.I.

Selection is not a problem at Big John’s. The farm grows over 100,000 trees and 10 different varieties including balsam fir, Fraser fir, blue spruce and white pine. And they allow you to tag trees in advance, meaning that you can make an outing out of choosing your Christmas tree earlier in the season and come back and cut it down whenever you’re ready to put it up. The staff will cut your tree, wrap it and put it on your car. While you’re there, take a family photo in front of the 20-foot tall Santa in the field. Leashed dogs are welcome.

How to Safely Transport a Christmas Tree

• Ensure it’s wrapped well. Most trees sold at farms will be put through a netting machine that tightly bundles up the branches for safe transport. In case netting isn’t available, bring a blanket or tarp to wrap the tree yourself.
• Direction matters. When arranging the tree on the roof of your vehicle, make sure the stump end is at the front. This will diminish damage when the car is in motion.
• Tie it up tight. If you can, use a vehicle with a roof rack to make your tree transport simple and safe. Car roofs, doors and windows are not designed to have objects fastened to them. Looping rope through these areas can even tear the seals off your doors. Secure the tree with nylon ratchet straps at the front, middle and just above the bottom branches. Before heading home, check all straps to make sure they remain tight and the tree isn’t able to move left, right, forward or back.

Tips for Christmas Tree Care

• Don’t feel guilty about cutting down a tree. Christmas tree farms are planted specifically to meet the demands of the holiday season. Plus, real Christmas trees are biodegradable and recyclable. Artificial trees are made of plastic and live in landfills indefinitely when they are disposed of.

• Keep your Christmas tree hydrated. Fill the tree stand with water and check daily to make sure it stays filled up to the base of the tree. A tree stand should hold at least 1 gallon of water – that’s the amount the average 6-foot tree can consume per day!

• Keep your tree away from heat sources like fireplaces, heaters and direct sunlight. Not only is it safer, it will slow the drying process.

Do you cut down your own Christmas tree? Tell us your favorite Christmas tree farm in the comments.

Word Search

Find the different Christmas tree varieties.

This article has been updated and republished from a previous version.

Mold is very tricky. Sometimes you don’t notice it at first. Sometimes it festers in corners or behind wallpaper. Sometimes it can even make you sick. But does home insurance cover mold? Rather, does it cover mold removal? Because when you find mold in your house, the very first thing you want to do is get rid of it. Your home is likely your largest investment, and severe mold damage can harm the resale value.

What Does Mold Do?

Four of the most common indoor molds are Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria and Aspergillus. Cladosporium may cause ear or eye infection, and it can also affect those with allergies, asthma or other respiratory conditions. Penicillium did, in fact, lead to the discovery of penicillin, and most strains are not very harmful to humans. Alternaria and Aspergillus can cause allergies and inflame skin and mucous membranes – they’re also especially harmful for people who are immunocompromised.

No matter what mold you have, it’s likely bothersome to those with asthma and it might make you feel like you have a perpetual cold. There are of course other molds, like black mold, that can be much more harmful. So whenever you spot mold, take action quickly.

Does Home Insurance Cover Mold?

“The answer is generally no,” said Patrick Sullivan, director of insurance sales at AAA Northeast, “unless it is the result of what we call a covered peril.”

For most homeowners insurance policies, financial protection is only given for damages stemming from sudden and accidental causes. These commonly include:

• Fire.
• Smoke.
• Car or aircraft collision.
• Strong winds or windstorms.
• Hail.
• Sudden and internal water damage.
• Roof collapse.
• Lightning strikes.
• Theft.
• Explosion.

These are all occurrences that happen suddenly and generally could not be prevented. There is a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the incident and the damages it may have caused.

Mold doesn’t act like this. No one is suddenly struck by mold – even if it’s been growing in secret. Even if there’s no way you could have known about it. Mold growth is gradual, so it’s usually challenging to prove what exactly the cause was, or when the trouble began.

Homeowners insurance doesn’t usually cover nuisances like bedbugs, termites or mold. Like mold, bug infestations occur over time, and it’s often difficult to tell the difference between bad luck and neglect on the homeowner’s part. Therefore, they are considered maintenance issues.

There are, however, certain very specific circumstances under which mold might be covered.

What’s Covered 

“For instance,” Sullivan said, “If ice damming occurs to your roof and it results in water damage to the inside of your home, and that leads to mold, then you should be covered. However, if you discover mold in your home resulting from a maintenance issue, or if the mold was there prior to you purchasing the home, then it would not be covered.”

Or, let’s say there was a fire in your home. Fortunately, most of your home is still intact since the firefighters arrived quickly and put it out. However, due to the water from the fire hoses, your home has developed mold. That could be covered by home insurance.

As long as the mold is caused by an event that is listed on your policy, your home insurance may cover its removal. If mold is caused by gradual seepage, neglect or general humidity, it usually is not covered.

“Some carriers may provide an endorsement to cover mold,” Sullivan said. “If someone is interested in that, they should consult with their insurance agent.”

Home insurance does not cover flooding, but if you live in an area that floods regularly, you might already have flood insurance. Flood insurance will most likely cover any sudden mold damage caused by a flood.

How to Control Mold

Although mold is sometimes the result of circumstances beyond your control, sometimes mold growth can be prevented.

Mold flourishes in dark, wet and warm environments. The damp areas of your house, like the bathroom, kitchen or laundry room, are the most susceptible to mold. To avoid mold growth, try to keep the humidity in your home to a minimum.

Ventilation is also important – make sure you have an exhaust vent in your bathroom and your kitchen. If you have a clothes dryer, make sure that it vents to the outside of the house.

If you discover a leak in a window, roof or pipe, fix it up quickly. The water seepage over time will most likely lead to mold.

Have you ever dealt with mold? What did you do? Let us know in the comments below.

AAA provides homeowners insurance and much more. Learn more. 

This article has been updated and republished from a previous version.

To mark National Older Driver Safety Awareness Week (Dec. 2-6, 2024), AAA Northeast is highlighting the rising number of fatal traffic crashes involving older drivers across the United States.

In 2022, the last year of available federal data, there were 7,870 fatal traffic crashes involving an older driver (aged 65+) – up 4.7% from 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Furthermore, 8,572 people were killed in crashes involving an older driver in 2022 – the highest number since at least 1975.

The rise in fatal crashes involving older drivers reflects the growing number of licensed drivers aged 65 or older nationwide: In 2022, there were around 51.5 million licensed older drivers – an increase of 15.6 million since 2012 and an increase of 23 million since 2002, according to the latest available data from the Federal Highway Administration.

AAA research shows that while seniors are less likely than their younger counterparts to engage in risky behaviors while driving, they’re at greater risk of being killed or seriously injured if a crash occurs.

“It’s important for seniors to stay active in their communities, but age-related changes may affect their driving ability,” said Jillian Young, Director of Public Relations, AAA Northeast. “Families and caregivers can help seniors stay safe on the road by encouraging them to keep their driving skills sharp and having a conversation should any changes need to be made behind the wheel.”

AAA offers the following tips for senior drivers and their families: 

• Review new technologies. Today’s new vehicles are often equipped with a variety of safety features, from lane keeping assistance to adaptive cruise control. Review your car’s manual or watch video tutorials to ensure you’re comfortable with how these systems work. 
• Monitor your health. Variousmedical conditions, eyesight problems or memory issues can make driving more challenging, and some medications can impair driving ability. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist about your safety on the road given your unique medical history. 
• Adjust your driving habits when necessary. Some seniors may only drive during the day, avoid highways or make three right turns instead of an unprotected left turn. Families should discuss the best strategies to keep an older driver safe behind the wheel. 
• Wear your seat belt. Wearing a seat belt is the best protection you can give yourself in the event of a crash. 

State-specific data:

• In Connecticut, there were 260 fatal crashes involving an older driver (aged 65+) from 2019 to 2023 – accounting for 18% of all fatal crashes during that time period, according to the Connecticut Crash Data Repository.
  • There were approximately 590,000 licensed older drivers in Connecticut in 2022, an increase of 100,000 from 20 years ago.
• In Massachusetts, there were 413 fatal crashes involving an older driver (65+) from 2019 to 2023 – accounting for 22% of all fatal crashes during that time period (1,870) according to the Massachusetts IMPACT Crash Data Portal.
  • There were approximately 1.07 million licensed older drivers in Massachusetts in 2022, an increase of 390,000 from 20 years ago.

• In New Jersey, there were 140 fatal crashes involving an older driver (65+) in 2021, the last year of available finalized data – accounting for 20% of all fatal crashes that year, according to Numetric.
  • There were approximately 1.4 million licensed older drivers in New Jersey in 2022, an increase of 535,000 from 20 years ago.

• In New York, there were 204 fatal crashes involving an older driver (65+) in 2023 – accounting for 20% of all fatal crashes last year, according to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.
  • There were approximately 2.8 million licensed older drivers in New York in 2022, an increase of 1.2 million from 20 years ago.

• There were approximately 177,000 licensed older drivers in Rhode Island in 2022, an increase of 65,000 from 20 years ago.

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IN THIS EPISODE

If you’re considering an electric vehicle, you probably have a lot of questions. How do electric cars work? What’s it like to drive one? Do you ever have to replace the battery? And what does routine maintenance look like? In this episode, we address these common concerns about EVs and more.

Guest Ben Sullins is an electric vehicle advocate who has spent years digging into the data and is here to dispel some myths. Matt Ferrell is an expert in sustainable technologies and gives us the lowdown on EV batteries. If we’ve sparked your interest, these are the electric car facts you should know.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

[4:45] – Is range anxiety still a thing?
[6:13] – How to easily charge your EV at home, and on the road
[13:37] – What is the lifespan of an EV battery?
[15:50] – How much maintenance does an EV require?

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TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:01]
Amanda Greene: That car is still giving me trouble. Now that I think about it, it’s been wonky since the beginning of this season. That’s a long time to put up with an uncooperative car. I’m starting to hear more and more about electric vehicles, but I don’t really know anything. It would be great not to worry about the price of gas, but I have no idea how much electric chargers cost or how they work or even how to use them. Maybe I should take a test drive.

Welcome to Merging into Life where we navigate life’s milestones one episode at a time. Brought to you by AAA Northeast. I’m your host, Amanda Greene.

Can you believe we’re more than halfway into season one? I’ve learned a lot. For example, after that identity theft episode, I immediately went and locked my credit. Now it’s something I watch all the time. If you’ve learned something that stuck with you, we would love to hear about it. Or if you have a topic that you want to hear about, get in touch. Leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts or email us at podcast@aaanortheast.com.

Today we’re going to talk about electric vehicles, also known as EVs. I read recently that Norway has more electric vehicles on the road than gas. EVs are now outnumbering regular cars. That’s so interesting because here I know a few people who own EVs but not that many. So I wonder what is the holdup here? Do they cost too much? Is charging easy? How do you even do it? To find out, I’m going to talk to some people who are not only longtime EV owners, but also EV enthusiasts who have crunched the numbers on how this all works.

Matt Ferrell has been kind enough to come on the show. He is super passionate about electric vehicles. He also has his own podcast called ‘Still to Be Determined,’ and a YouTube channel called Undecided, where he explores how technology affects our lives. But first, I’d like to welcome …

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[00:01:51]
Ben Sullins: I’m Ben Sullins. I’m a former data scientist, worked at all the big tech companies you’ve heard of, became a fan of EVs around 2016 and started sharing my journey as an owner of an EV back then on YouTube. And I’ve sort of become an advocate for it, helping people understand the reality behind owning an electric vehicle and what it means for the climate, what it means for you personally, and helping people navigate those decisions.

[00:02:15]
Amanda Greene: What first got you interested in electric vehicles?

[00:02:18]
Ben Sullins: So, funny story, when you have a kid and you have an old beat up truck, your wife isn’t really keen on putting the kid in the old beat up truck. So she told me, ‘Hey, you better buy a real car. It’s time to grow up.’ And I was sad about that, but as a tech guy that grew up in what I consider the golden era of tech – pre internet, pre smartphones – I saw all this amazing tech, I got really fascinated with how technology can directly affect our lives. And cars for me were always the lamest pieces of tech that you’d own. If you remember back in the day, if you had a navigation system, it was revolutionary. You had to put DVDs to load maps in it. It was ridiculous. And then Tesla came out, and so I sort of fell into love with the tech side. That led me into really becoming more interested in all electric vehicles as more and more came out.

[00:03:09]
Amanda Greene: From all of your experience over the years and being a tech guy, what do you think the biggest misconception is when it comes to EVs?

[00:03:17]
Ben Sullins: The one I hear a lot of is that they’re expensive and that there’s nowhere to charge. And it maybe was the case certainly when it started. I bought my first Tesla Model S used, and it was very expensive for me at the time, but it was probably a lot cheaper than the new ones were, maybe about half price. And the price of the materials of EVs, batteries – and this goes for a lot of sustainable tech like solar panels and stuff – you can just look at the trends and see how dramatically the prices have fallen over the past decade or so. So nowadays with the Inflation Reduction Act and all the incentives that the government puts out there, you’re looking at a brand new EV in the low 30 thousand dollar range, which is actually just on par with gas cars in terms of the average price of a new car in the US. And if you look at used EVs, you can find plenty of really good ones all the way down to the 15 to $20,000 range. So that’s probably the biggest misconception is that you can’t afford it.

Electric Vehicle Maintenance 101

[00:04:27]
Amanda Greene: I told you that I really only know the headlines. I’m beginning my deep dive into electric vehicles. And one of the terms that I hear over and over again is range anxiety. Do you experience that? Is that something you’ve already worked through or is that just something that people who drive gas vehicles made up?

[00:04:45]
Ben Sullins: Well, no, I think it’s a real thing. It certainly was more of a thing years ago, maybe in the 2013, 2014 era, but nowadays it’s really sort of gone. It’s sort of a relic of the old original days of EVs.

The average range for a new EV is over 300 miles. And if you look at the Department of Transportation studies on household trips, how far people drive, there’s less than 7% of people drive more than 30 miles a day. So at 300 miles average range less, than 30 miles per day, you’re going to be fine for several days.

Anecdotally, my wife and I both have electric vehicles and we drive a fair amount. We got to take kids to school and go do all those kinds of things and go to work and back. And so in that, with two electric vehicles and one place to charge, she charges maybe twice a week and I charge maybe twice a week.

So, it’s one of those things, you can even have multiple and still not even need to be charging every single day. And so range anxiety is only a really a thing if you go on extremely long road trips and you do that frequently. The data doesn’t really suggest that that’s what people do. Anecdotally, you and anyone listening can probably just think about the last time you drove 800 miles in a single day. It does happen. Depending on your situation, I would concede that there can be cases where EVs don’t fit the bill, but I think that’s a very small percentage of people.

[00:06:05]
Amanda Greene: Charging, where do we even begin? If you’re fortunate enough to own a home, how do you even know what to do when it comes to setting up home charging?

[00:06:13]
Ben Sullins: Well, if you own a home or even a townhome or anywhere where you have a garage or you can park your car next to your home, good news is that your home already has charging infrastructure because it has electricity, which means you have a place to charge. Because in fact, you can charge just from a regular outlet that you’d plug your phone into or anything else. It may not be the fastest charge, but depending on how much you drive, you’d be surprised actually how well it works. So day one I would say you’re good to go.

As you go down this path of driving nothing but electric, that’s where the question comes in, do I need a high-performance or high-power charger? If you own a home or a townhome or something with a garage, you might have a dryer in there, for example. That dryer probably has a higher power outlet than your regular 110, 120 volt outlet that you plug your stuff into. That right there could be sufficient, and there are even adapters and cool ways to make it switch between the dryer in your home. So that you could spend a couple hundred bucks on and you’re good to go.

Now, if you don’t have that and you need to wire up a new outlet, that’s when you start to talk to an electrician and your prices can vary from a couple hundred dollars, depending on where your electric panel is and where the outlet needs to go, or all the way up to maybe a couple thousand dollars if you have to actually redo your service panel, which is not generally required, but can happen if you have an older home or depending on your situation.

[00:07:31]
Amanda Greene: I bet it’s worth checking with your local energy company to see if there are any rebates to help cover the cost.

[00:07:37]
Ben Sullins: Yeah.

[00:07:37]
Amanda Greene: Would you think it would be realistic to own an electric vehicle without the capability to be able to charge it where you live?

[00:07:44]
Ben Sullins: Yeah, it becomes a bit more challenging, I would say. But I know plenty of people, if you look at New York City for example, where a lot of people don’t even have street parking, the population of people that own EVs is still very high. So certainly it’s working for a lot of folks. It does present some additional challenges.

The thing that I think that we can use here to our advantage is just a different perspective on what it means to charge an EV versus what it means to fuel a gas car. So, most people will go to work in the day or they’ll go to the grocery store, movie theater, the gym. They’ll go to lots of places where their car is going to be parked somewhere for a long period of time. And depending on where you live, you’re going to see public charging available in those locations.

And this is actually good news because it means that you don’t spend any additional time charging. You’re not having to go to a charger and sit there for 30 minutes or an hour. That is an option if you want to go fast charging and you need to charge up quickly. But finding a way to where you just weave charging into your existing schedule in your existing life is really how we can think of it to make it an easier thing than it is to go fill up gas. If you think about filling up your gas car, you’re going to have to drive to a gas station. You don’t have one at your house or at your work probably. So you’re going to have to go out of your way to go do that, maybe sit in line, maybe wait, and then spend all the time doing it.

If you do it right, I would say it is a bit more of a challenge if you don’t have charging at home, but it’s certainly not impossible, and we can see that in the data of how many people in these areas actually own these cars. There’s about a thousand new ones each week. We’re now at over 200,000 public chargers in the US. And the situation’s getting easier and easier, I would say.

[00:09:21]
Amanda Greene: The way you worded it about weaving it just into your life – anything that you do long enough becomes a habit, and sometimes you just need to think about making it a habit. Can you walk us through the process? How reliable are they? Have you ever pulled up to one and it wasn’t working? How easy are they to find?

[00:09:36]
Ben Sullins: The first thing to think about public charging. Well, first off, just charging in general, there’s sort of levels. And you can find a lot of this information at the Alternative Fuels Data Center or fueleconomy.gov. They have a lot of information. AAA has a lot of great information on their website as well. So there’s actual real classifications of this stuff that wasn’t just created by a blogger or something.

You have level one, which is what I mentioned, where you just plug into an outlet in your house in the room you’re in now. You can plug an EV into that and you’ll get level one amount of juice out of that. Then you have level two. That’s the high-powered one I mentioned before, like your dryer in your garage or a high powered EV charger that you install in your home. That’s level two. These are the majority of what you find for public chargers.

Now, on a day-to-day basis, if you’re driving 30, 40 miles, at level two public charger, you pop it in an hour or two hours, you’re going to get all that range back. So it’s really not a huge burden considering you’re going to be at work or wherever for that time anyways. So that’s level two. That’s the vast majority of them. Then you have level three chargers, which are known as DC fast chargers. On a level three charger, you can get a thousand miles of range added in an hour. Now, obviously it doesn’t go a thousand miles, which means that you can charge almost fully in about 15, 20 minutes.

DC fast chargers are going to be more expensive. They’re going to be less common because the infrastructure, as you could imagine, to put out that much kind of juice is pretty significant, and the maintenance is also higher. So, that’s where you may encounter issues. I will say though, the reliability overall of DC fast chargers is about 75% nationwide in the US. Now, that’s excluding Tesla, so depending on what you have. Not all cars can charge on Tesla’s network yet, but we now have GM, Ford and Rivian – three big ones out there. So that’s going to be expanding.

So public charging, you have different levels. Mostly what you’re going to do is use a website like PlugShare or Chargemap, or even Google Maps now has this built in where if you go into Google Maps and just search for EV charging station. I haven’t tried it in Apple Maps, but that’s probably also there as well. You can actually find them. You can see the prices of them, you can see how busy they are, just like you would finding a coffee shop or something.

[00:11:47]
Amanda Greene: Thanks, Ben. We’ll come back to you shortly. Right now I want to dig a bit deeper into the issue of charging. Forget motors, at the heart of this conversation and these vehicles is the battery. So we’re bringing in someone who knows a whole lot about them.

[00:12:02]
Matt Ferrell: My name is Matt Ferrell. I have a podcast called ‘Still To Be Determined,’ and I also have a YouTube channel called Undecided With Matt Ferrell where I talk about renewable energy, sustainable technologies, things like electric vehicles and batteries and all that kind of stuff that goes into it.

[00:12:15]
Amanda Greene: How long does it take to charge a battery?

[00:12:18]
Matt Ferrell: The thing you have to think about when you have an EV, if you own your home and you have an electric charger in your garage, it’s like having a gas station in your garage. So, you no longer have to stop at a gas station. And every day when I get up to go drive somewhere, my car is fully topped off. Because I get home, I just plug my car in, go inside and forget about it.

But for a long road trip, one of the rules of thumb that you have to think about is your battery will charge the fastest when it’s low. So if you’re at 15% left in your battery and you go to charge and you go up to a supercharger, it’s going to charge really fast. Where if you try to pull up to a EV charger and it’s 70% full and you try to charge, it’s going to go much slower. Because they have to ramp the speed of the charge down as it gets closer to full. It has to do with how much energy the battery’s able to absorb as well as the lifespan of the battery. They’re trying to preserve the lifespan of the battery. They don’t want to hammer the battery too hard.

So one of the rules of thumb of when you’re driving on a long road trip is you want to kind of get your tank as close to empty as you can before you have to charge up, because then you stop and you can charge for 15 minutes, and then you go on the next leg of your journey, stop for a bathroom break, charge for 15 minutes, go on the next leg of your journey. So if you do it right, you’re not having to stop and charge for an hour or two. You might be stopping and charging for 15, 20 minutes at a time.

[00:13:30]
Amanda Greene: We are living in the future, Matt?

[00:13:33]
Matt Ferrell: Yes.

[00:13:33]
Amanda Greene: It’s happening. What is the lifespan of a battery?

[00:13:37]
Matt Ferrell: Okay, this is one where I hear a lot of misinformation on my YouTube channel and stuff like that about this. People talk about like, “Oh, well, my phone, the battery’s no good after two years and I have to replace the battery.” Because you associate lithium ion batteries as being the same thing. What you have in your phone is the same thing that’s in your car. And to a certain extent that’s true, it’s a lithium ion battery, but there are a lot of differences here.

There’s different battery chemistries that are used that make a difference between how long a battery will last or not. So where you might see two, three years before your battery starts to kind of feel a little old in your phone, you’re talking about a battery pack in a car that’s going to last you eight, 10 years or more. In many cases, it’s going to last longer than the frame of the car itself.

[00:14:16]
Amanda Greene: And when it does finally go, is it recyclable? How much are we paying to replace it? Is it like replacing an engine?

[00:14:24]
Matt Ferrell: It’s the most expensive part of an electric vehicle, so it would be akin to having to replace your engine in an internal combustion engine car. Right now, it can be very expensive. You’re talking sometimes tens of thousands of dollars to replace the battery pack. But that’s today, and battery prices are dropping like a rock, and that cost of a battery pack is dropping. So in five years, 10 years, when a car that you buy today might need a battery replacement down the road, it’s going to be way cheaper than it is today.

Second factor of that on the recycling angle is these batteries can absolutely be recycled. And I’ve actually visited battery recycling plants that are doing this. It’s one of those, as a new industry emerges, there’s kind of a lag between here’s millions of electric fuels on the road. Well, how do we recycle the batteries? Oh, well, there’s actually some companies that are just starting up now, so they’re kind of lagging behind, but they’re coming.

There’s companies like Li-Cycle, American Manganese, Redwood Materials. I’ve actually been in the Li-Cycle facility, I’ve been in the American Manganese facility. They can fully recycle these batteries and get like 90, 95, 98% of the materials back out to make brand new batteries. So it’s possible to make a closed loop battery system where the company that makes the batteries can recycle the batteries and then make brand new ones, and you can do that almost infinitely. Where a gas car, you burn the gas, the gas is gone, it’s not coming back. So there’s a definite lifespan there.

[00:15:43]
Amanda Greene: This is so fascinating. So what kind of maintenance can people expect to have to do?

[00:15:50]
Matt Ferrell: Virtually nothing. Like I said, I’ve been driving since 2018, electric vehicles. Obviously, windshield washer fluid, your tires might need to get replaced, things like brake pads, things like that are still part of the car that you have to keep an eye on. My last car I had for five years, the brake pads were almost like new when I got rid of the car, so I never had to deal with those. There’s no spark plugs, there’s no oil to change. Really, it’s just keep your car clean, make sure the tires are aligned, make sure they have good treads. It’s the normal kind of stuff like that. But beyond that, there is virtually no maintenance on an electric vehicle.

[00:16:24]
Amanda Greene: Until right now, it didn’t cross my mind that oil changes are not a thing now. Is there an emergency charge pack you can travel with in case you got stuck on the side of the road? Something just to give it a little juice?

[00:16:39]
Matt Ferrell: I wouldn’t recommend driving around with an extra battery pack in your trunk because those are big and they’re heavy, and adding weight to your car is going to make the efficiency go down. So it’s like it doesn’t make sense to do that.

[00:16:49]
Amanda Greene: And some areas, if you run out of charge, AAA will come to you and give you enough boost to get you to the nearest charging station or home. But you can check out the AAA website for details. Let’s get back to Ben. As someone who is considering dipping my toe into the electric vehicle market, I’m really curious, what do you wish more people knew about them?

[00:17:11]
Ben Sullins: Probably how fun it is to drive, is probably the biggest thing. I think people really don’t understand that. I was talking to someone the other day about this. When the smartphone came out, it was sort of a net new product. Smartphones didn’t exist and then they existed. It’s not like it really displaced your home phone. It maybe has now 20, 30 years later, but it didn’t at the time, it was a net new product. So the pushback was sort of not super strong. But electric vehicles coming out, they are disrupting something that is already existing.

The thing that I think everybody should think about is to not listen to any of the high-level talking points. You hear a lot of people say that electric cars are better for the climate, and every study and every data point out there you see, does show that. But I don’t think that that’s what people should think about. I think you should think about your own use case. Is it better for you? And if the answer is yes, that’s when you should really consider it.

These high ideas of, ‘do this because it’s better for someone else,’ I think it’s tough for people to swallow that. That’s where people get a really sour taste. They feel like they’re being forced into something. Let your own personal use case, is it better for you individually? And if so, then yeah, you should decide for yourself by going and taking a test drive. And I think most people, when they get behind the wheel and they start experiencing it, that feeling of not having the shifting and the instant torque, all of a sudden it’s just whatever those other thoughts were you had just melt away and you start to realize how awesome it is and the joy of really driving an electric vehicle.

[00:18:40]
Amanda Greene: Before you go, we like to do a little rapid fire, so if you could just give us quick little zippy answers.

[00:18:45]
Ben Sullins: Sure.

[00:18:46]
Amanda Greene: What is your favorite thing about driving an EV?

[00:18:49]
Ben Sullins: The speed, the torque. Pure bliss. It’s bliss on tap.

[00:18:52]
Amanda Greene: What’s the farthest you’ve ever made it on a charge?

[00:18:56]
Ben Sullins: On a single charge, 370 miles.

[00:18:59]
Amanda Greene: And were you getting range anxiety toward the end?

[00:19:01]
Ben Sullins: It was actually a test to see how far it would go, so I drove it until it died.

[00:19:05]
Amanda Greene: Oh, super. Do you even go to gas stations anymore?

[00:19:09]
Ben Sullins: I haven’t been to a gas station to get gas in eight years.

[00:19:13]
Amanda Greene: Right, but don’t you miss the drink cooler, like all the drink assortments?

[00:19:16]
Ben Sullins: No.

[00:19:18]
Amanda Greene: No, you don’t miss a gas station?

[00:19:20]
Ben Sullins: Zero percent.

[00:19:20]
Amanda Greene: Okay. And what’s the most popular video you’ve ever made about EVs?

[00:19:24]
Ben Sullins: Oh, wow. Probably the first video that really kicked off my channel where I looked at the monthly cost of owning a Tesla. And I did a video, it was a terrible video, please don’t look it up. And it was just me talking over a spreadsheet. And that’s when I learned, wow, there is something here. If you go past the headlines and you look at the facts, you can really see the true value of something like this.

[00:19:45]
Amanda Greene: I’m totally going to go look it up. I’m sorry, but I’m going to because I’m curious. Ben, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been very enlightening. And talking with you has made this feel like a more realistic option, because for a while it seemed like something other people might consider. And after hearing the details and hearing how you’ve integrated driving an EV into your life and how it’s not some crazy undertaking to be able to charge it each night, it is just a mindset shift, it feels like a more realistic option for regular people. So thank you for sharing all of that and coming on here today.

[00:20:20]
Ben Sullins: Absolutely. Happy to help.

[00:20:22]
Amanda Greene: That was Ben Sullins, and before that, Matt Farrell. If you’d like to hear more from them, we have links to their work in our show notes as well as general information on EVs. Imagine no more gas tanks, oil changes, gas stations. Well, I’d still go for the drink cooler, but it’s a whole different mindset. It sounds like getting an EV is really a personal choice, and I hope that our guests today have made that an easier one for you.

You’ve been listening to Merging Into Life where we navigate life’s milestones one episode at a time. Brought to you by AAA Northeast with assistance from JAR Audio. I’m your host, Amanda Greene. If you’re learning as much as I am, follow us wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. We’d love to know what you think. Email us at podcast@aaanortheast.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily the views of AAA Northeast, AAA and/or its affiliates.

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RESOURCES

EV Perks That Come With AAA Membership

AAA Survey Reveals EV Anxiety

Electric Vehicle Maintenance 101

AAA EV Resource

Undecided with Matt Ferrell

Still To Be Determined Podcast Series

Undecided With Matt Ferrell

Plugshare

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*The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily the views of AAA Northeast, AAA and/or its affiliates.

When it comes to taking care of your vision, there are some myths swirling around about what you should and shouldn’t do. To best protect your eyes and overall health, it’s important to separate fact from fiction.

It’s always a good idea to schedule routine eye exams each year. With DeltaVision® AAA Northeast members in Rhode Island have exclusive access to discounted vision insurance plans. Members can get affordable, comprehensive coverage that helps you save on exams, eyeglasses, contacts and much more.

Myth: Glasses or contacts ruin or weaken your eyesight.

There is no evidence supporting this claim. It’s important to keep up with regular eye exams so your eye doctor can update your prescription as needed and address any vision changes. And with coverage from DeltaVision®, AAA members in Rhode Island don’t have to worry about the cost.

Myth: Eye exams are only for those with vision problems.

Routine eye exams are important for more than just addressing vision problems and eye disease, they can also provide a glimpse into your overall health. By taking a close look at your eyes, a doctor can see possible problems in your blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue. They may also spot signs of diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and thyroid disease.

Myth: Reading in low or dim light damages your eyes.

Reading in inadequate light conditions can lead to temporary eye strain, tiredness, minor headache or fatigue, but not permanent damage to your eyesight.

Myth: Carrots significantly improve eyesight or help you see at night.

Eating carrots promotes eye health because they contain Vitamin C and beta-carotene, key nutrients for healthy eyes. But no matter how many carrots you eat or how often you eat them, they cannot correct your vision. 

Myth: All blue light is harmful to your eyes.

Blue light – visible light from the sun, computer screens, smartphones, fluorescent light, LED TVs and tablets – is not inherently harmful to your eyes. Moderate exposure is OK, but excessive exposure can cause issues. If you spend a lot of time looking at devices that emit blue light (which many of us do), you may want to consider blue light-filtering lenses to reduce exposure.

Now that you know the facts, you can take better care of your eyes.

DeltaVision® provides AAA Northeast members in Rhode Island with vision plans that go beyond standard eye care, in partnership with VSP® Vision Care, the largest vision benefits company in the country. Enroll now.

Dental and vision care are vital to your overall health, so it’s important to do what you can to take care of both. While regular exams are needed to keep your teeth and eyes strong, everyday maintenance can also help.

Did you know that eating certain foods can benefit both your teeth and eyes? Here are three to start incorporating into your diet.

For exams and more, AAA members living in Massachusetts can take advantage of exclusive savings on both dental and vision insurance, with Altus Dental and Altus Vision™, for individuals and families.

Go Green

Dark leafy greens are packed with vitamins and minerals that are good for your entire body, including your mouth and eyes. They contain calcium and folic acid that keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong. Plus, chewing on crunchy leafy greens helps clean your teeth as you eat.        

Dark leafy greens also help reduce the risk of age-related eye diseases, such as cataracts and macular degeneration, as they are rich in vitamins C and E, as well as the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.

Don’t Skip Meat

Meat and fatty fish provide nutrients that boost oral and eye health, provided you incorporate the right meat and fish into your diet.

Meat contains protein and phosphorus, which help build strong teeth. Chewing meat also produces saliva, which can help wash away acids that harm your teeth. Beef is high in zinc, which protects the retina and promotes long-term eye health. Oysters are another good source of zinc, so don’t be afraid to order the surf and turf for dinner. 

If you aren’t a fan of oysters, choosing a fatty fish such as salmon or tuna can benefit both teeth and eyes. They contain high levels of phosphorus, which protects tooth enamel, as well as Omega-3 fatty acids that promote retinal health.

Go Nuts

Nuts are a powerhouse for vitamins and minerals that keep the whole body healthy – and that extends to your mouth and eyes. For instance, almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews contain calcium and magnesium that help fight bacteria that cause tooth decay. Also high in calcium, peanuts have vitamin D, which promotes healthy teeth and gums. And chewing nuts stimulates saliva, which helps cleanse the mouth.

Walnuts have Omega-3s, zinc and Vitamin E that fight inflammation in the eyes and age-related damage. Other nuts rich in Vitamin E that support eye health include peanuts, hazelnuts and cashews. 

Eating healthy foods can support healthy teeth and eyes, but diet alone isn’t enough. It’s also important to have regular dental checkups and cleanings and eye exams to monitor for changes that indicate disease not only in those organs, but throughout your body.

AAA Northeast members living in Massachusetts can utilize exclusive savings on dental and vision insurance with Altus Dental and Altus Vision™ to get routine screenings for themselves and their families.

With Altus Dental, AAA Northeast members living in Massachusetts can get quality coverage at more than 10,000 locations locally. In partnership with VSP® Vision Care, Altus Vision™ offers savings on exams, glasses, contacts and much more.

Explore the benefits and enroll today.

More than 48 million Americans suffer from hearing loss that impacts their quality of life. Many delay having their hearing checked, hoping it will improve, but age- and noise-related hearing loss is unfortunately irreversible.

But what if there was a possibility to hear better and no one would ever know your secret? Imagine: No more just nodding and smiling at dinners and parties because you cannot follow the conversations.

Horizon IX hearing aids from hear.com can put you right back in the action.

Effortless Hearing

From the world’s leading online provider of hearing aids, Horizon IX devices are German engineered and made to work effortlessly. They are not only tiny but rechargeable and can even connect to your phone for simple adjustments. And the sound? It’s so clear and natural, you’ll forget you’re wearing them.

What makes the difference is that these are the world’s first hearing aids with dual processing, which means they have two state-of-the-art computer chips instead of the usual one. Designed to be invisible, they are available in behind-the-ear and in-the-ear models.

The natural silicone on Horizon IX domes ensures a comfortable and natural-sounding hearing experience.

Higher Volume, Better Clarity

With Horizon IX hearing aids, sounds are louder and clearer. They use speech-processing algorithms to enhance a person’s voice while simultaneously reducing background noise. They can improve the clarity of at least three voices at once.

Horizon IX devices have been evaluated by audiologists in the U.S. and Germany and evidence suggests dramatic improvement in hearing when using them. In 2024, hear.com’s customers reported a staggering 95% increase in their hearing ability. 

Built with long-lasting rechargeable batteries, Horizon IX hearing aids can be easily adjusted from your phone. Just download the app and with a few taps, you can adjust the volume based on the setting and the number of people.

Happy Customers

More than 425,000 people already are hearing better with Horizon IX hearing aids. Finding them is easy – hear.com has partnered with more than 2,000 specialists across the U.S. to ensure people across the nation have access to this life-changing technology. The fitting and buying process is no-fuss too, with award-winning support and flexible payment options. No stress, just better hearing.

Want to try Horizon IX hearing aids for yourself? Find out if you qualify for a 45-day no-risk trial today.

When winter arrives, cold weather, snow and ice can wreak havoc on your car and be potentially dangerous if your automobile isn’t properly winterized. One of the most important steps to take is considering a switch to winter tires. These tires are specifically designed to handle snowy and icy road conditions, as well as cold temperatures, which can harden all-season tires and reduce traction.

Proper tires go a long way in keeping you safe. After all, they are the only part of the car that touches the ground.

Do I Need Winter Tires?

The answer to this question depends mostly on where you live. If you experience just a few light snowfalls during the winter, you’ll most likely be fine with all-season tires. However, if you travel over snowy roads throughout the season, you should consider switching over to winter tires.

All-season tires are designed to be just that: tires that will be effective and efficient throughout the year. This works well during warmer months, as all-season tires have the proper traction and tread to handle clean, dry roads while maintaining peak fuel efficiency. But a tire designed to work well for most of the year sacrifices features needed to properly handle driving in cold, snowy weather.

“All-season tires, the type that most vehicles have, are a bit of a compromise,” said John Paul, AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. “They need to work well in all seasons, at all temperatures…the reality is ‘one size fits all’ isn’t the case.”

“An old rule that I still use is that all-season tires work about 60%-to-70% as well as winter tires in four-to-five inches of snow,” Paul said. “If you need to be out before the snowplows or want the best traction for your vehicle, winter tires are the best option.”

Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

Winter tires have specific features that distinguish them from all-season tires. The first difference is the materials from which they are made.

Tire rubber must be flexible in order to grip the road, but the rubber on all-season tires stiffens at a relatively high temperature. The rubber compounds of winter tires, however, are designed differently. “Winter tires have rubber compounds that stay flexible and sticky as the temperatures drop below freezing,” Paul said.

Winter tires also have unique tread patterns and deeper tread depths, which help channel snow and slush and expel water. The tread depths reduce snow buildup, allowing the tires to get better traction.

Buying Winter Tires

There are a few things to consider when switching to winter tires. Whenever possible, it is important to get the same size tires as the ones that are currently on the vehicle. Some sports cars will allow for replacements that retain the same height but have a narrower profile.

Paul suggests always buying four tires and having them installed on spare wheels. “Depending on the vehicle, you may also need to purchase four tire pressure monitors for the four new wheels and tires.”

Once the weather warms up, it’s important to switch back to all-season tires. The softer rubber compounds of winter tires will cause the tread to wear out on dry roads much faster.

Other Tips on How to Winterize Your Car

Check Your Fluids

Not adjusting car fluids could cause them to freeze and damage your car. “The antifreeze/engine coolant should be clean and protect the engine against freezing,” Paul said. “A 50/50 mix of engine coolant and water will protect an engine to 34 degrees below zero.” Other fluids to refill or replace include freeze-resistant washer fluid, transmission fluid, and power steering and brake fluid.

Test Your Battery

Get your battery tested if it’s more than three years old and replaced if it’s more than five years old. Cold temperature limits your car battery’s power output while simultaneously requiring more power to work. “A car engine needs about 30% more energy to start when the temperatures drop to freezing,” Paul said. “And at zero degrees your vehicle battery can only deliver at 50% of its rated capacity.”

AAA will come to you, wherever you are, to test your car battery and replace it if needed. Learn more about AAA Battery Service.

De-Icing

Ice buildup can freeze your car doors shut. If you find yourself in that situation, don’t use hot water. You’ll melt the ice but leave behind more water to freeze later. Use de-icer spray instead but remember – prevention is the key. When it’s dry outside, wipe down the door seals and spray the gaskets with silicone to prevent freezing.

Keep it Clean 

Wash your car regularly to get rid of road salt and other chemicals that cling to the undercarriage and cause rust. If the rubber on your vehicle’s wiper blades leaves streaks behind, replace them.

Have a question for our Car Doctor? Ask him here.

Find more info on keeping your car running smoothly all year long. 

This article has been updated and republished from a previous version.

Having life insurance is an important part of your long-term financial plan, but there are some circumstances that may necessitate the use of supplemental services – like income annuities. Read on to find out what exactly an income annuity is, how it works and if it’s right for you.

What Is an Income Annuity?

Not to be confused with life insurance, income annuities are financial products designed to provide a stream of income for a specified period, typically for the duration of a person’s life. Think of them as a long-term financial safety net with a twist. You can either contribute a lump sum or pay into it over time – kind of like a savings plan – and, in return, you get a steady stream of income immediately or in the future, usually when you retire. It’s sort of like giving yourself a paycheck even when you’re not working anymore, which is particularly valuable for retirees who do not have access to traditional pension plans or who have exhausted other sources of income. 

Income annuities come in two varieties – immediate or deferred income. Income annuities offer protection against longevity risk, as well, which is the risk of outliving one’s savings. By providing a guaranteed income for life (or a specified term), annuities ensure that retirees will not run out of money, regardless of how long they live.  

“People often like the idea of their money earning a guaranteed interest rate and transferring longevity risk to the insurance company,” says Costantino Detore, life insurance and annuity specialist with AAA Northeast.

How Do Income Annuities Work?

In order to get the benefits of an income annuity, you must either contribute a lump sum or pay regular premiums to your insurance company. In exchange, a person receives the promise of future guaranteed income payments. These future payments are based on various factors, including age, gender, interest rates and the length of the term. When you reach a certain age or retire, the insurance company begins paying you back in regular installments, similar to how social security operates.

There’s a good amount of flexibility when it comes to income annuities, too. It’s up to you how long you’d like to receive payments for, whether it’s for a specific number of years or for life. During this time, you receive regular payments, typically on a monthly or annual basis. “If you are concerned about a spouse running out of money, an income annuity can pay lifetime income over both person’s lives. Any remaining balance can also be transferred to children or loved ones,” DeTore said.

Income annuities bring some tax benefits, too, which is always a bonus when it comes to money matters. While the specifics vary depending on the jurisdiction and the type of annuity, in many cases the income deferred or received from annuities can be designed to maximize tax efficiency.

What Else Is There to Know About Income Annuities?

There are some potential drawbacks and limitations to consider before opening an income annuity.

First, it’s important to remember that most income annuities are not suitable if you anticipate needing your money back in a lump sum or for emergencies in the short term. This means that annuities should be considered in coordination with a full needs analysis — while being mindful of short-term and long-term financial goals.

While they offer stability, some income annuities do not provide payments that keep up with inflation over time, essentially decreasing their initial purchasing power. Some income annuities do provide this feature, so it is important to work with a financial professional that can match your needs with the right solution.

Talk to a AAA insurance specialist about an income annuity today.

Everyone has that neighbor or friend who is a runner. They make it look so simple, racing by in all kinds of weather, gliding through local races and completing marathons. Even if you don’t consider yourself an athlete, have you ever thought, “Maybe I can do that?”

Not just maybe – you can. Running isn’t easy but it’s also not as difficult as you might think once you set a goal and develop a training schedule. Some people decide to train for a 5K race, which is 3.1 miles, and can make it from the couch to the starting line in as little as two to three months, according to some fitness experts.

“I love it,” said Jeff Dengate, Runner-in-Chief for Runner’s World, when he learns about people ready to start a 5K training plan or other running program. “It means they are becoming one of us.”

Before starting any exercise program, people should first see their doctors, especially if they have any history of heart problems. Eating a healthful diet also will help you get in shape.

Your Couch to 5K Training Plan

Start Slowly, Build Slowly

Dengate has been a runner for decades and completed 33 marathons. For novice runners preparing for a 5K, he estimated it can take between eight to 10 weeks to get in shape. “It can be intimidating,” he said, starting a training regime. Start slowly, be consistent and don’t get discouraged, Dengate advised. Track your daily runs on a phone or watch.

Those taking up running have plenty of company; running increased during the pandemic and numbers are continuing to grow, said Dengate, with 5K races among the most popular. “Some big road races are selling out in advance,” he added.

The first few training runs could last about five minutes each, Dengate continued, but then build two runs per week into your schedule and cross-train two days per week.

“After the first few runs, after a week or two, you are going to feel tired,” Dengate noted. “By the third week, you could be running seven minutes.” He cautioned that some people do too much too soon and get tired or injured. In a few weeks, you should build up to running four or five days a week for 20 minutes at a time and continue from there, he added. “If you get discouraged, recall a great running day you had, and it will trick your brain into a happy moment.”

Be Consistent, Set Targets

Michael Vaiano, a physical therapist at The Schwartz Institute, stresses the 10% rule – don’t do more than 10% of exercise than you did the previous week. He has treated runners who pushed themselves too hard and hurt themselves not long before a race, Vaiano added.

“It is important to set goals and slowly meet goals, which hopefully leads to healthier lifestyles,” Vaiano noted. And running is not the only necessary training. “It’s important to not only slowly increase your running volume, but also stretch your calves, knees and hamstrings; you can do calf raises and squats to strengthen your glutes,” he continued.  After running, do an appropriate cool down phase. “Walk about one-quarter of a mile to reduce your heart rate.”

Consistency is the most critical component of a successful running program, according to Dengate. Block out time for running on your calendar to make it as important as every other commitment. “If you get out and move five days a week, you will see gains,” he continued. “Think of running more as a treat than a chore: ‘I get to go for a run!’ It’s not something you have to do. This flips your brain.”

Training for a single road race also could transform a couch potato into a running fan. “Completing a race gives people a good sense of accomplishment,” Vaiano said. “And often it’s a springboard to a healthier lifestyle, since they already have been training.”

For more running tips, from wearing the proper gear to keeping up the habit, listen to Dengate and Vaiano in episode 14 of our podcast, Merging Into Life: Running 101.

Have you ever trained for a road race or other athletic event? What was the most important part of your training? Share you tips in the comments below.

Any new exercise routines should be approached with caution. Consider your physical limitations and always consult your doctors.

Most podcast recommendations are about the podcast series you should listen and subscribe to. But sometimes, all you need is one really good episode to help you discover your next favorite podcast.

Here are some of the best podcast episodes of all time, ever (in my opinion).

Reply All – “#158 The Case of the Missing Hit”

When “Reply All” posted “The Case of the Missing Hit,” it was an instant, well, hit. This is the story of a man from California who has a song stuck in his head. The song used to play on the radio in his youth, and he just wants to listen to it again. The problem is, it doesn’t seem like the song even exists. “Reply All” brings out all the stops to bring the song to life and find out why it mysteriously disappeared in the first place.

This American Life – “129 Cars”

A Long Island dealership has to sell 129 cars before the end of the month, and they’re not sure if they can pull it off. “This American Life” reporters embed themselves in the day-to-day business of the dealership as the deadline creeps closer and the salespeople get more and more desperate. I might have listened to this episode more than anyone else alive.

Radio Rental – “Episode 04”

“Radio Rental” is a podcast about the weirdest true stories out there – stories that are as creepy as they can get without actually being supernatural. “Episode 04” is special because of its second segment, titled “Laura of the Woods.” “Laura of the Woods” is the story of a boy who meets a young girl in the forest behind his house, and the hazy memories he has of their time together. Who was Laura, really? A ghost? An imaginary friend? Something more sinister? And why didn’t anyone else seem to know her?

You Must Remember This – “Six Degrees of Song of the South”

Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This” tells the forgotten stories of Hollywood. In her series, “Six Degrees of Song of the South,” she explores the dark history, subtext and creation of Disney’s “Song of the South” and how it echoes throughout popular culture today. It’s not one episode, it’s a miniseries, but it’s worth counting anyway.

Articles of Interest – “American Ivy”

While we’re on the subject of miniseries, we have to mention “American Ivy,” a series on Avery Trufelman’s podcast, “Articles of Interest,” about the history of preppy clothes and how the style has changed (and stayed the same) across time, class, race and gender. How did this one style spread from Ivy Leage campuses to almost every corner of the globe?

Blank Check With Griffin & David – “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk with J.D. Amato”

“Blank Check” is a podcast devoted to covering a director’s entire filmography, and their episode on “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” comes at the tail end of their series on director Ang Lee. The thing that makes this episode really special is how guest J.D. Amato breaks down the cutting-edge technology they used to make “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” work with a framerate of 120 frames per second. The standard speed for most movies is 24 fps, so that’s a huge difference. When trying to describe what it’s like to see the movie in its intended framerate, host Griffin Newman says “It’s going to be like we’re describing a ghost.” You don’t need to have seen the movie, or even be that familiar with Ang Lee’s work to enjoy the episode. It’s a fantastic mixture of dense tech talk and genuine laugh-out-loud moments.

Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) – “the tumblr bone witch, pt. 1 and 2”

“Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)” is a podcast about the internet’s various main characters and what happened to them after they returned to relative obscurity. Comedian journalist Jamie Loftus tracks down the people involved, interviewing the experts on the weirder side of online infamy. In this two-part episode, she investigates the notorious story of “the tumblr bone witch,” a Tumblr user who advertised her collection of human bones which she’d supposedly found in a New Orleans graveyard. Whether you remember this incident or not, it’s a wild ride.

Criminal – “A Bump in the Night”

On “Criminal,” Phoebe Judge tells the types of true crime stories that aren’t usually covered on other crime podcasts. In “A Bump in the Night,” a young woman moves into a new apartment, but something doesn’t feel quite right to her. She hears strange sounds, and notices objects that seem to move around on their own. But it must be in her imagination, right?

Maintenance Phase – “The Body Mass Index”

Why do we still use BMI as an indicator of health? On this episode of “Maintenance Phase,” hosts Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes explore the history of BMI, its invention by a 19th century mathematician and how our reliance on this antiquated measurement might be doing more harm than good.

The Lonely Island and Seth Myers Podcast – “Dear Sister”

On “The Lonely Island and Seth Myers Podcast,” Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone sit down with Seth Myers to recount the stories behind their SNL Digital Shorts. On this episode, they discuss the landmark short, “Dear Sister.” They talk about the origins of the short, the way it made it to air and the bizarre experience of having a smash hit SNL skit.

Radiolab – “The Cataclysm Sentence”

If the world changed forever, and you could only pass down one sentence to all future generations to come, what would that sentence be? In “The Cataclysm Sentence,” “Radiolab” attempts to answer that question, first posed by Richard Feynman in 1961. Writers, historians, futurists and artists all attempt to come up with their own version of the cataclysm sentence. It’s a moving episode about the nature of humanity and our hopes for the future.

Mystery Show – “Case #2 Britney”

“Mystery Show” was a short-lived, yet beloved podcast in which host Starlee Kine attempts to solve life’s mundane (yet still confounding) mysteries. In “Case #2 Britney,” Kine interviews a writer whose first book was a flop. Yet somehow, a photo surfaces of Britney Spears holding that very book in her arms. As with many “Mystery Show” episodes, the real joy comes from the conversations Kine has with the strangers she meets as she attempts to solve the mystery.

Dead Eyes – “31 – Tom”

“Dead Eyes” follows Connor Ratliff on his search for answers about why he was unceremoniously fired by Tom Hanks from the 2001 mini series “Band of Brothers.” In episode 31, he finally gets to ask the man himself. Will Tom Hanks have the answers Ratliff so desperately seeks? Or are they lost to the sands of time forever?

Call Chelsea Peretti – “Rain’s Comin’ In”

I have never been a regular listener of the “Call Chelsea Peretti” podcast, but “Rain’s Comin’ In” is perhaps my favorite podcast episode of all time, ever. “Rain’s Comin’ In” is a live reading of the titular play, written by Peretti and performed by her and her comedian friends. The best way to describe it would be as a parody of rural family dramas like “August: Osage County” and the works of Tennessee Williams. Peretti and the other actors play it totally seriously, and she begins the episode by thanking various fictional organizations and grants that supposedly funded her work as a genius playwright. There’s no way that I can explain “Rain’s Comin’ In” in a way that will do it justice. It’s so funny that it makes me cry.

If you love podcasts, don’t forget to check out AAA Northeast’s podcast, “Merging Into Life.” It’s all about navigating life’s biggest milestones, from buying your first car to choosing your child’s first car seat. Listen now!

What’s your favorite episode of your favorite podcast? What do you think is the best podcast episode of all time? Let us know in the comments below.

This article has been updated and republished from a previous version.

For members who request AAA Roadside Assistance, it may seem like all it takes is a phone call or the click of a button, but responding quickly and efficiently involves numerous steps. Checks and rechecks in the system ensure that the right vehicle with the right equipment gets to you as soon as possible.

We took a ride in a tow truck with a AAA roadside technician to find out what it’s like to respond to a service call.

Request AAA Roadside Assistance

We are available 24/7.

Call: (800) 222-4357 | Request online: AAA.com/GetMoving | AAA Auto Club App

What you will need:

• Your 16-digit AAA membership number.
• The location of the disabled vehicle.
• The type of service needed.
• A description of the disabled vehicle.
• A phone number where you can be contacted.

Getting on the Road

AAA Northeast operates 13 fleet centers across five states, with 600 roadside technicians and 400 vehicles. AAA also relies on a network of independent service providers. They assist members with a variety of vehicle services, including:

• Breakdown.
• Fuel delivery.
• Flat tire
• Dead battery.
• EV charge.
• Keys locked in car or child/animal locked in car.
• Bicycle breakdown.

After a request is received by a dispatcher, the driver’s information is submitted to AAA’s auto-assign system, which taps a driver. If the system does not automatically assign a driver, then a dispatch supervisor will intervene. Dispatch managers remain in contact with the truck drivers throughout the call.

Callers who use the AAA app submit information about their situation themselves and after a truck is assigned can manage all the communications.

A Life of Service

One of those tow truck operators is Richard Sheffield, who is based in Garden City, N.Y. He patrols the roads on Long Island and into New York City Sunday through Wednesday, never knowing where he will be going or what exactly he will find. On a dreary Wednesday, he was headed to Queens to tow a car that would not start. Country music keeps him company as he drives.

Wednesdays are usually slow for whatever reason, Sheffield noted, adding that he responds to a lot of calls on Sundays and Mondays. Weather always is a factor. “Everyone breaks down when it rains,” he said.

Among the challenges Sheffield faces, besides maneuvering a heavy truck in tight spaces, is knowing which roads he can use. Commercial vehicles are banned from parkways and some tunnels in New York, which can make for some creative detours. Because he is a Florida native and not familiar with all the metro-New York roads, he sometimes must verify with other drivers which roads are for commercial use.

Sheffield started working for AAA in Florida, not long after retiring as a police officer, before moving to New York six years ago. “AAA taught me everything about tow trucks,” he said. “I love working for AAA. I get to see another side of people from when I was a cop. Most members are nice, and I enjoy talking with them.”

Ready to Respond

After arriving at the Queens address, Sheffield pulled over and called the member. Rey Vandross, the caller, said the car started the day before, and he had no trouble driving it. Vandross tried to start the car, with no success. Then Sheffield tried but it did not turn over. Sheffield checked the alternator and asked a few questions: Did the car run all right the day before?

Sheffield decided to jump the battery, at which point the car started and continued to run, so he checked the battery strength. He told Vandross the battery was extremely low and advised him to keep the car running and get to a mechanic to buy a new battery.

“Whenever possible, I like to get the car started and running so I can go on to someone who really needs help,” Sheffield explained. He added that he always waits for the member to drive off, to ensure the car continues running.

Need to have your battery checked or replaced before it’s too late? Learn about AAA Battery Service.

A AAA member for about five years, Vandross said that he has called for help before and is happy with the service. “I like how they come to the rescue and get the job done right,” he said.

Have you ever had to call a AAA Road Assistance? What was your experience like? Tell us in the comments below.

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov.18, 2024 – AAA projects a record 79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. For the first time, AAA’s forecast includes the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day to better capture the flow of holiday travelers.  

This year’s projection of nearly 80 million travelers is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to last year and 2 million more than in 2019.  

“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and AAA continues to see demand soar post-pandemic as Americans reconnect with family and friends and seek memorable trips to new destinations,” said Jillian Young, Director of Public Relations, AAA Northeast.  

AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over Thanksgiving – an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road compared to last year. This year’s number also surpasses pre-pandemic numbers in 2019, when 70.6 million people drove to their Thanksgiving destinations. Drivers are benefiting from lower gas prices this Thanksgiving season: The average national gas price is down 25 cents from this time last year.   

Thanksgiving air travel is also expected to set a record. AAA projects 5.84 million people will fly domestically this holiday, an increase of 2% compared to last year and a nearly 11% increase over 2019. Air travelers are paying 3% more for domestic Thanksgiving flights this year, while the number of flight bookings is similar to last year, according to AAA booking data. International flight bookings are up 23% compared to last Thanksgiving, in part because the cost to fly internationally is down 5%.  

Nearly 2.3 million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including buses, cruises and trains. This category is seeing an increase of almost 9% compared to last year and an 18% jump over 2019, due in large part due to the popularity of cruising.  

This record number of travelers is headed, in large part, to warm weather destinations over the holiday. Four Florida cities are on the list of top domestic destinations because of their beaches, theme parks and cruise ports. Other top destinations include New York, California, Hawaii and Las Vegas. Internationally, Europe and the Caribbean dominate the list thanks to their beach resorts, tourist attractions and river cruises. 

Best and Worst Times to Drive  

The worst times to travel by car over Thanksgiving are Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, according to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights. The best time to hit the road pre-Thanksgiving is early morning, and minimal traffic is expected on Thanksgiving Day. Drivers returning home on Sunday should leave early in the morning, and those coming back on Monday should expect a mix of travelers and work commuters on the road. 

AAA car rental partner Hertz says the busiest car pickup day is expected to be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the busiest rental return days will be the Monday and Tuesday after the holiday.  

Best and Worst Times to Travel by Car
Date	Worst Travel Time	Best Travel Time
Monday, Nov. 25	1-5 p.m.	Before 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 26	1-7 p.m.	Before 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 27	1-5 p.m.	Before 10 a.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving Day)	Minimal Traffic Impact Expected
Friday, Nov. 29	7-10 a.m.	After 1 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30	4-8 p.m.	Before 1 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 1	12-6 p.m.	Before 1 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 2	9 a.m.-6 p.m.	Before 8 a.m. / After 7 p.m.

“With a record number of travelers on the road over Thanksgiving, we urge drivers to plan ahead to make their trips smooth and safe,” said Young. “For many, the night before Thanksgiving kicks off a season of holiday celebrations, and as drivers plan their road trips and outings, a safe and sober ride should be at the top of the list.” 

For older press releases, please click here.

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IN THIS EPISODE

Have you ever dreamed of running across the finish line of a race, only to be frustrated when you can hardly run up the block? Running isn’t easy, but we’re here to help you go the distance.

Whether you’re interested in running as a healthy new habit or signing up for your first race, the beginner running plan laid out in this episode will take you from the couch to your first 5K. If your goal is to start preparing for a marathon, this is the first step.

Jeff Dengate, Runner in Chief at Runner’s World magazine, is here with running 101 to make running a part of your lifestyle. You’ll learn about the gear you’ll need, the physical and mental training required, how to keep up the habit in the cold winter months, diet suggestions and more. Mike Vaiano, physical therapist at the Schwarz Institute, provides insight on how to prevent injuries, so you don’t push yourself too hard too soon.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

[2:41] – How to set goals, and create a training plan as a beginner
[6:03] – How to find the right running shoe
[14:00] – The importance of warming up, and how to do it properly

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TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:02]
Amanda Greene: I wish I was one of those people who loved running. In order to start a habit, you have to just start, right? I’m dressed, I’ve got my sneakers on, and you’re not going to believe this. I go to start running. It’s pouring out. I finally found some motivation to start running and it’s pouring. Maybe tomorrow. All right, I’m going to get out there today. I’m going to go for a jog, maybe some intervals. It’s pouring again today, so today is also not the day. I just checked the forecast and it’s supposed to rain all week long, so let’s just hope I can hang onto this motivation to start running until next week.

Welcome to Merging into Life where we navigate life’s milestones, one episode at a time. Brought to you by AAA Northeast. I’m your host, Amanda Greene. Today, we’re going to talk about becoming a runner and preparing for your first race. I’ve done some running in my life, but I’ve never really committed. I’m definitely one of those people who feels like my days are full enough as it is. It’s hard to fit in something that isn’t completely and immediately necessary, but of course it’s all how you look at it.

According to Harvard Health, even five to 10 minutes of daily low-intensity running can extend your life by several years, but I get it. Working on living longer can be tomorrow’s problem, but studies show running can make you feel better today. It’s a natural mood booster. Regular exercise has an antidepressant effect and improves working memory and focus. It’s hard to argue with those kinds of benefits, so let’s bring in some people who can help us lace up and hit the road to do it safely and to mitigate the risk of injury. We have Mike Vaiano, a physical therapist at the Schwarz Institute on Long Island, New York. But first, let’s talk to Jeff Dengate, Runner-in-Chief at Runner’s World. Jeff, how do you get a title like that?

READ MORE

[00:01:57]
Jeff Dengate: I’ve been running my entire life. I started when I was seven or eight years old with the local 5K, just jumping in with my parents and then I really got into running in high school and I’ve been sticking with it ever since. I’m also a real shoe nerd. I’ve been testing shoes and reviewing shoes for over 15 years now, so it’s kind of my passion.

[00:02:13]
Amanda Greene: What kind of runs are you doing now? Are you still doing 5Ks? Are you doing marathons?

[00:02:18]
Jeff Dengate: A little bit of everything. I’ll run a mile race on the road. I’m going to run the Boston Marathon in the spring. I ran one earlier this year, so I’ll run basically any distance up to a marathon. I love to go run trails as well, just go out and have an adventure. So, I’ve run 33 marathons. I don’t think the marathon is the only or the best distance. I think just getting out there and moving and challenging yourself at any distance that you find inspiring is a lot of fun.

[00:02:41]
Amanda Greene: So I would love to talk about being a beginner, starting to make some goals, and coming up with a training plan. How do you build up endurance for that first marathon or maybe a 5K?

[00:02:54]
Jeff Dengate: The first thing I always recommend everybody is just make it a habit. Schedule it, put it on your calendar like any other important appointment. The easiest way to do that is make sure you get it done in the morning as well, because when life gets busy and things get pushed at the end of the day, that run is the thing that oftentimes gets sacrificed.

So, you just want to carve out the time to protect the time so you can go out and run or walk, and if you have no idea what you’re doing, you’re going to get really excited. You’re going to head out the driveway, you don’t know how fast you should be going, and you’re probably going to get to the end of the block and feel tired and miserable and like this running thing is awful and it’s hard, and it doesn’t have to be.

The easiest thing you want to do is just get out and set maybe a time to be out moving, maybe 20 minutes, run and walk, mix it up. Just know that you’re going to be out there for a little while and you’re going to come back home and it doesn’t matter how fast you went or how far you went. These are your early days, your first days and you want to come back feeling fresh and happy and excited.

[00:03:44]
Amanda Greene: But how can you make sure that you don’t get too excited and overdo it and can’t walk for a week?

[00:03:51]
Jeff Dengate: Well, I mean, there’s a lot of people that do a run/walk method, right? You might run for two minutes, you might walk for 30 seconds. You can vary those intervals to whatever you want. And then if you start training for a race, you need to start thinking about training plans. A 5K, if that’s your first goal, maybe that’s going to take six to eight weeks of real training, but a marathon will take you 16 weeks or longer and you need to have a pretty good base as a runner and walker to even start that kind of training. Your early days though, it’s really important to just kind of take it easy, make sure you’re getting that movement in, make sure you’re feeling comfortable because if you get really excited and you run a lot, you’re going to get hurt. I see it all the time.

[00:04:26]
Amanda Greene: How often should a beginner be running or preparing for a marathon? Every single day? Is there a rest day?

[00:04:31]
Jeff Dengate: I mean, ideally you’re out there four or five days a week for 20 to 30 minutes. That’s whether you’re walking or running, that’s going to give you a really good baseline fitness. And we know that movement is medicine. It does actually help relieve a lot of medical problems that our society is afflicted with. So, if you’re out there moving for 20 to 30 minutes a day, five days a week, you’re going to be pretty fit. If you have more ambitious goals, of course you’re going to end up running a little bit longer. You might be out there for an hour on some of those days, but even your easy days, you’re not out there for more than 30 or 45 minutes. So it’s not a huge time commitment to become a runner. Now if you’re training for a marathon, you’re going to be on Saturday or Sundays, you’re going to be out there for two or three hours. That’s a commitment, but that’s also a lot of fun.

[00:05:15]
Amanda Greene: And something that you’re working up to. And I imagine once you’ve really mastered the beginner stage, you kind of want to push for more.

[00:05:23]
Jeff Dengate: We all have different goals and what we want to get out of running, right? Being a competitive runner and chasing times and competing with other people, and there are some people that will never race and they don’t want to do long distances and that’s totally cool. There’s groups that just get together once or twice a week with friends and you’re socializing more than anything. You’re a talking group with a running problem, for example. And so, it all depends on what you want to get out of the sport, but make it a habit. Make it part of your life and part of your identity and you’re going to enjoy the experience.

[00:05:49]
Amanda Greene: Shoes are probably the most important equipment and the most important thing to make sure you’re getting right in the earliest days of running, and I see behind you all different kinds of shoes because you mentioned being a product tester. So what is the best running shoe for running a marathon?

[00:06:03]
Jeff Dengate: Shoes are our most important protective piece of equipment. Comfort is the first key because if they don’t feel good, you’re not going to wear them and you’re not going to run.

I’m in the shoe lab and we bring our wear testers in and we see them and so many times, even experienced runners, they’re wearing their shoes too small. They’re not going to be the same size that your street shoe or your work shoe might be. They may be a size or a size and a half larger. Sometimes it’s going to feel like your shoe is just too big. You might think this feels loose. And so, I send people out with them, run in them and then try your old shoe. And when they come back, they’re like, ‘Oh, those old shoes were too tight.’ So you want to make sure you’ve got a little room at the end, not sloppy, not too big.

There’s Miracle Foams out there right now. These things are light and soft. They feel great and bouncy, but that might not be what you need as a beginning runner. You might want something middle of the road that’s soft but not too squishy, not too thin and hard because if it’s thin and hard, you’re going to feel the road and that might hurt after a few miles. You don’t need the high-end, $250 racing shoe if you’re getting started or for daily training, something middle of the road is going to be good.

Now, if you have no idea where to start, I recommend always going to your running store. Be honest. Say, “Listen, I’m new. I don’t know what I don’t know, and I would love some help.’

[00:07:09]
Amanda Greene: Other than shoes, what other gear does every runner need?

[00:07:12]
Jeff Dengate: Well, so women really need to invest in a good sports bra. It is another really important protective piece of equipment. Don’t skimp on that. Don’t think the old one that you’ve had for years is going to give you the support you need. And the fit is again, key. And then, I always recommend sunglasses for every runner. We only have two eyes, and even in the dead of winter when there’s sun out there, you need to protect your eyes. You need some covering. So, invest in a good pair of sunglasses that are going to give you that UV protection.

[00:07:38]
Amanda Greene: How do you track your runs? Are you doing it on a watch or do you have your phone attached to your arm? I feel like I see people with all kinds of contraptions attached to them.

[00:07:48]
Jeff Dengate: Yeah, I mean, the watches are the easiest way now, whether you have an Apple watch or a Garmin or even your phone, they track, and a lot of them will do it automatically and they store it and save it and you can review it. I send my workouts to Strava, which is an online training log. It just automatically uploads it there depending on whatever device I’m testing that day.

I think it’s really important to definitely track your runs, even if you just want to write it down in a notebook like I did when I started, a little journal, and just what the day was, how far you went, maybe you were out for 30 minutes, doesn’t even matter about mileage, how you felt, what the weather was, something that you can kind of look back later and see how far you’ve come, how you’ve progressed.

And also, running is not a linear process, so you will have ups and downs. You will have days of motivation where your motivation is struggling a little bit or you’ve been dealing with a little bit of an injury. And if you’ve been keeping track of what you’ve done, you might remember, ‘I had that before,’ and you can look back and see what you did, how you got over it, or you can just kind of see how far you’ve progressed in the last months. You won’t see improvement from day to day, but if you look back three months, six months, even a year, you can see, ‘Wow, I can’t believe where I’m at now compared to where I was then.’ And tracking it with your watch or your device is an easy way to do that.

[00:09:05]
Amanda Greene: Absolutely. So I guess it’s best to just use whatever works best for you. What about running in the winter?

[00:09:12]
Jeff Dengate: A lot of people don’t run outside in the winter. They’ll head to the gym, they’ll get a treadmill, and I get it. It’s tough especially in places where you get snow and you get those nor’easters and it’s hard. So running in the winter is all about staying comfortably warm. A lot of us overdress, we think we have to have a big puffy jacket, but you don’t. You really need thin layers that can help moderate your temperature. So a thin polyester base layer is always going to work well to get the sweat away from your skin. And then a good windproof jacket if you live in a windy area with a zipper so you can unzip it and kind of use it almost like throwing open the window when you get too hot.

Hat and gloves are important, but you don’t need big puffy things. I like Merino gloves that are just kind of help regulate the temperature. You can take that stuff off and tuck it in your waistband when you get warm. And there’s a tip for running in the winter that I really like because you’re going to get sweaty no matter what you do. And if it’s a windy cold day, start out running into the wind, you’ll feel cold at the start because you’re not warmed up yet. But do that because when you get sweaty, you don’t want to be running into the wind, you turn around and run back with the wind, so the wind is at your back, you’re not getting cold, then you’re able to keep your warmth a little better.

[00:10:15]
Amanda Greene: Between the ice and the snow, how do you even manage to stay upright?

[00:10:19]
Jeff Dengate: So the biggest recommendation I have is wait until the roads are plowed or wait until the sidewalks are shoveled. And please shovel your sidewalks if you have them – us runners need to use them.

But wait until the snow and ice are gone if you can. And that means sometimes it’s tricky if you’re a morning runner because the sun hasn’t come up and it hasn’t melted anything yet. Now, if you are going to get out there and you insist on, I have to be on the ice and the snow, there are things like Yaktrax. They’re kind of like tire chains for your shoes that you can put on and slip over your shoes. It’s amazing how effective something that little is in giving you just that enough traction to stay on your feet.

The other thing about running on ice and snow, just don’t be afraid to slow down. A lot of us look at our watch and we think we have to be running our typical pace and it doesn’t matter. You’re out there, you’re getting the fitness. You go for time, have fun, and remember that you’re going to be doing more work in the snow. You’re slipping and sliding. Your heart rate’s going to be up no matter what speed you’re going. So you’re out there just getting in that work. Stay safe, get the running.

[00:11:16]
Amanda Greene: What other physical exercise is useful to incorporate when you are training, other than going for runs?

[00:11:23]
Jeff Dengate: Runners think we just have to run and that’s it. And we’ll be fit and we use certain muscles but we don’t use others. And so, strength training is important. Hitting the gym, lifting some weights, doing just even body weight exercises in your basement with a single kettlebell is a really great thing that’s hugely popular because it’s something that’s simple that runners can do with just limited equipment, limited space, and it doesn’t take a lot of time. But the benefits of actually building a strong body is that it supports your system when you’re running, so you can fend some of those overuse injuries. We’re hitting the road with the same force and the same stride and the same motion time after time after time. And those muscles and those tendons and ligaments, they start to get overworked. And if you have a strong system, you can actually take that load and put it elsewhere and not get those overuse injuries.

[00:12:11]
Amanda Greene: Injuries, they can put quite a damper on any new runner enthusiasm. I think this is a good time to bring in Mike Vaiano because …

[00:12:21]
Mike Vaiano: Typically patients will walk through the door when it’s a little too late, so they’ll walk in unfortunately after they have gotten injured.

[00:12:27]
Amanda Greene: Mike is a physical therapist at Schwarz Institute on Long Island, New York.

[00:12:32]
Mike Vaiano: So with new runners, we typically see a couple common injuries, one of which is called shin splints. That’s the muscle in the front of your leg that gets overworked and you get a sharp pain and a lot of people suffer from it and it usually happens when you ramp up too quickly, so you don’t go through the proper build-up to running a 5K or running whatever type of race you want to run and what happens is the muscle gets overworked and then it can’t handle the stress it’s being put under. Another common injury we see is called runner’s knee or like a patellar tendonitis type of thing. That’s from faulty mechanics or if you’re overusing a certain muscle when you’re running, it can lead to knee pain.

[00:13:12]
Amanda Greene: So what can runners do to prevent these kind of injuries?

[00:13:16]
Mike Vaiano: So there’s a couple different things. If you just go out there and try and run three miles in the first day, you’re probably not going to last very long because your body’s going to be hating you and everything’s going to be hurting. But if you build up slowly, so maybe going a half a mile the first day or whatever your tolerance is, just slowly build up and leave enough time before the race to build up. If you decide, ‘Oh, next week’s the 5K, I want to get out there,’ that’s probably not enough time. Give yourself a month or two months to properly train and make sure you’re ready to go for the race. There’s some other things you can do in terms of exercising to making sure your muscles are strong enough. If you haven’t been on an exercise program prior to starting, that’s something you’re going to want to do to strengthen up your quads and your glutes and calves and also stretching as well.

[00:14:00]
Amanda Greene: What kind of stretches do you recommend?

[00:14:03]
Mike Vaiano: One great way to warm up and to stretch beforehand will be a dynamic exercise. So what you can do is a high knee, so you’re jogging and you lift your knees up towards you. There’s also an exercise called Frankenstein where you’re kind of kicking your legs straight out in front of you, and this will help to loosen up your hamstrings as you’re getting ready and you’re not doing as much of a static stretch. This is more of a dynamic stretch, which means you’re moving while you’re stretching, which is shown to be a little bit better for your muscles. It’s important to stretch your hamstrings, your calves. There’s some basic stretches that everyone knows that can loosen you up before you get out there.

[00:14:36]
Amanda Greene: How about proper form? What does that even look like?

[00:14:40]
Mike Vaiano: So you want to run on the middle of your foot and if you lean too far forward, it’s going to push your body weight forward so your back muscles are getting all fired up trying to hold you up. It just leads to a number of issues. So maintaining that upright posture is one of the most important things you can do while you’re running.

[00:14:58]
Amanda Greene: Okay, so form is very important to avoid injury.

[00:15:00]
Mike Vaiano: Yes, definitely.

[00:15:02]
Amanda Greene: What kind of role do diet and hydration play in performing our best or what do you eat before running a marathon to prevent potential injury?

[00:15:10]
Mike Vaiano: So diet and nutrition are huge when it comes to running a race or preventing an injury or making sure you’re prepared for a certain event. So you want to make sure you’re hydrated at least 72 hours before the race. So don’t start hydrating the day of the race, that’s going to be too late. And then typically the night before the race, I like to have my athletes take in a decent amount of carbs because that’s what your body uses for energy while it’s running, especially when you’re getting into those longer races, you really need those carbs. And in the morning of the race, you definitely don’t want to eat anything too heavy, so that’s just going to sit in your stomach. So eat something that you’re comfortable with that will give you a little bit of energy the morning of.

[00:15:47]
Amanda Greene: So, skip the stack of pancakes, that makes sense. But even if you do everything right, injuries do happen. So how do you know when to push through the pain and when to take a break and get treatment?

[00:15:58]
Mike Vaiano: It’s hard to differentiate, at least when you’re just getting into running because right when you start off, you’re definitely going to be sore. So being able to differentiate between being sore and having a pain is something that is crucial. What I characterize pain as is something that’s sharp. If something sticks around for three or four days, then that’s something that you should get looked at or figure out what’s going on. And then I also like to use the pain scale. So if there’s anything over like a five out of 10 pain, then that’s something you should get checked out. If it’s below that, it’s something you can work through a little bit.

[00:16:31]
Amanda Greene: This has been very helpful. Thank you so much, Mike. So now we know the basics, the gear, the commitment, and how to prevent injuries. Jeff, let’s say we’ve done it. We’ve incorporated running into our life. What do we need to know before we step up to the start line for the first time?

[00:16:49]
Jeff Dengate: The training for a race really beats you up. It leaves you tired, especially close to race day. You’re putting in most work, you’re getting ready, but you need to recover. So we have what we call a taper in running, and it’s no matter what race distance you’re going to do, you’re going to taper and that’s just reducing the amount of running. The first week you might do like 75% of the work that you were doing and then 50% and then the last week like 25%, and you might take a couple of days entirely off before your race. So in that taper period, you can’t actually get any more benefit from doing harder work. You might be nervous and think, ‘I’m not going to be ready. I need to do another workout.’ That’s wrong, and that’s going to leave you cooked for race day, and you’re not going to hit your goals when you start doing that.

[00:17:29]
Amanda Greene: What about you’ve been training for this for a while, you’re here doing your thing, you’re going to hit a dark patch during the race. How do you get through it?

[00:17:37]
Jeff Dengate: Every race, there’s a dark moment. It doesn’t matter the distance either. If you’re running a mile, the third lap on the track is going to just be hard and you have to go into it prepared. You’re training your body for weeks to get ready for the physical toll, but you need to prepare your brain as well. Just get through that moment of mental toughness. Your body can do more than your brain will let you.

Your brain is going to try to preserve the system and it’s going to try to shut you down if you’re doing something really hard. So you need to trick your brain, maybe you’re going to count. I’m just going to get to that next light post. If you’re racing with other people and you look ahead and pay attention to who’s around you, you might see somebody struggling more than you and, I’m not that person or I’m going to catch that person. Kind of use them as motivation and when you see somebody else struggling, you understand we’re all in this together, you’ll find ways to get through there, but you’re always going to hit that tough patch, so train for it and kind of understand what is going to work for you to get through it.

[00:18:27]
Amanda Greene: The mental part of training sounds just as big as the physical part. It’s really powerful. Is there anything else that you would want to share with a beginner who is just starting out? Do you have any words of wisdom for them?

[00:18:40]
Jeff Dengate: Biggest thing I will always tell anybody who’s new is you’re going to be so excited to do this and you’re going to take on too much. It’s the biggest trap for runners is too much too soon. It leads to injury. So we have what we basically call the 10% rule. Don’t do any more than 10% more work from week to week. You shouldn’t go from like 10 miles a week to 25 miles a week. You’ll get away with it for a week or two, but three weeks down the road, your knee’s going to start hurting, your back’s going to start hurting, something shins. It’s going to happen. So you want a nice steady progression and running is a long-term gain. It is all about consistency. It doesn’t happen overnight, but you’ll get there. So think weeks down the road, build and train for that and stay in it for the long term. The health benefits are huge, so give yourself the permission to set it into your schedule, make it important and stick with it.

[00:19:27]
Amanda Greene: Okay, we’re going to do a little rapid-fire quiz. Are you ready?

[00:19:34]
Jeff Dengate: Let’s do this.

[00:19:35]
Amanda Greene: Awesome. What’s your favorite thing to use for fuel during long runs on race days?

[00:19:40]
Jeff Dengate: Maple syrup, they make them in little packets and they’re tasty. There’s some salt in there. Sometimes there’s a little bit of flavor, like a raspberry-salted maple syrup. So good.

[00:19:48]
Amanda Greene: What’s your favorite marathon that you’ve ever run?

[00:19:50]
Jeff Dengate: Oh, Big Sur out in California. It’s so beautiful.

[00:19:53]
Amanda Greene: How often should you replace your running shoes?

[00:19:56]
Jeff Dengate: Around 300 miles. Start thinking about your body. Does something hurt? How does a shoe look? Have I worn through the rubber on the bottom of the shoe? You might need to start replacing them kind of early, especially some of these newer shoes with lightweight foams, they wear out a little bit quicker.

[00:20:08]
Amanda Greene: Which is more important, warm-up or cool-down?

[00:20:10]
Jeff Dengate: Warm-up definitely is more important.

[00:20:12]
Amanda Greene: What is the biggest goal on race day?

[00:20:14]
Jeff Dengate: Usually hitting the finish line.

[00:20:16]
Amanda Greene: And what’s one word to describe that feeling after finishing the race?

[00:20:21]
Jeff Dengate: Now that could be, I say this because I think it’s two things. One is hungry for food, especially long runs or races. But also hungry for more. Maybe you’re done, you did that marathon and you’re like, ‘That was so cool. I’m going to go sign up for another one.’ And sometimes you’re signing up for that next race the next day.

[00:20:36]
Amanda Greene: Amazing. Thank you, Jeff, so much for sharing all of your experiences with us, and thank you so much for joining us.

[00:20:42]
Jeff Dengate: Thank you so much for having me.

[00:20:43]
Amanda Greene: And thanks to Mike Vaiano, physical therapist at the Schwarz Institute. If you’re new to running or getting back into it, you don’t need to overdo it with expensive gadgets. You do need a pair of well-fitted running shoes. And if you need one, a sports bra. Track your progress over time, whether it’s with an app on your phone, a watch, or even an old-fashioned notebook and pen. Seeing your progress over time is a huge motivator. Winter running can be done from the warmth and comfort of a treadmill, or you can head out into the elements. Dress in layers, you might need to shed some as you heat up. Keep safety in mind as we know those roads and sidewalks can be treacherous in the winter. Because you don’t want to hurt yourself, do some dynamic stretching to start, slowly progressing into harder runs, hydrate properly beforehand, and eat your carbs the night before a race. There is a lot to it, but at the same time, it’s simple. Running is good for you. All you need to do is carve out some time, lace on some shoes, and go.

You’ve been listening to Merging Into Life where we navigate life’s milestones, one episode at a time. Brought to you by AAA Northeast with assistance from JAR Audio. I’m your host, Amanda Greene. If you’re learning as much as I am, follow us wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. We’d love to know what you think. Email us at podcast@AAANortheast.com.

It is still raining, but if Jeff can run in a snowstorm, I guess a little rain won’t hurt me. Let’s do this.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily the views of AAA Northeast, AAA, and/ or its affiliates. AAA Northeast does not endorse any of the products mentioned in this episode.

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RESOURCES

Fun Walking Apps for Exercise and Exploration

Starting a Morning Stretch Routine

Your Couch to 5K Training Plan

Runner’s World

Schwarz Institute

Harvard Health

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*The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily the views of AAA Northeast, AAA and/or its affiliates.

When it comes to 25^th wedding anniversary celebrations, not much can top a 13-day tour of Italy with family, and Paramus, N.J., resident Franca Eleftheriades could hardly wait to experience the sights, cuisine and culture.

She wanted to add one more event to the packed guided tour – she told AAA Travel Counselor Claudete Fujikawa in the Hackensack, N.J., office that she and her husband Anthony wanted to renew their wedding vows in a church in Italy.

“I figured there was no better place; my parents were born, raised and married in Italy before they came to the U.S.,” Eleftheriades said.

The Right Choice

This was the first time Eleftheriades arranged a trip through AAA, when she stopped in at the AAA branch next to her gym. “I met Claudete, we just hit it off, and she helped me with all of it,” she said. “She is easy to work with, patient, knowledgeable and went out of her way. I was a little nervous; we don’t travel much, and she helped with transfers and she helped reassure us. She took the extra step.” 

The family booked the AAA Member Choice Vacations Italy’s Treasures: Art, Food and Wine of Italy for July. Squeezing a church service into a tight tour schedule sounded challenging, but Fujikawa did not hesitate to start planning. “I researched what day and time would be best to attend services at a local church,” she said. “Everything had to be coordinated with the itinerary as they were on an escorted tour. I advised the family to bring nice outfits to suit the occasion, such as a white summer dress.”  

A travel advisor for 27 years, Fujikawa personifies what it means to go above and beyond.  While all the trips she plans are special to her, “this was really one of the top,” she said.

Find great deals on Italy vacations with AAA Travel.

From Hope to Reality

Eleftheriades mentioned in a pre-trip email to tour manager Giulio Passariello that she and her husband wanted to renew their vows during the tour but understood the complex logistics involved.

“She told me any day during the vacation would work, and only if it was possible. She wasn’t expecting anything exceptional,” Passariello said in an email. “If not, she said, ‘absolutely no problem.’ It was simply her dream, but she understood they were traveling with a group. I replied that I would try to do my best, very sincerely!” 

With no firm plans when the trip began, Passariello went to work, and he came up with the perfect event.

Creating a Memory

“Considering the itinerary, pacing and timing, I planned to organize something in the evening, before dinner, while staying at the Hotel Villa Lecchi, a beautiful Tuscan villa immersed in the Tuscan countryside. That would give time to everyone to get prepared for the function and then go to dinner in the garden of the villa,” said Passariello. “The idea came to me not only because of the beauty of the place but also because in the park of the villa itself. Adjacent to the entrance, there is also an old chapel that is still consecrated that belongs to the villa itself. All the ancient noble families had a private chapel and a family priest in their summer residences and villas.”

The owner of the villa is a longtime friend, added Passariello, and he was willing to let the group use the chapel. He also knew an English-speaking priest in a nearby town.

A number of tour members joined the couple, along with their 24-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter, for the ceremony, and then for dinner at the villa. A woman from the villa even assembled a bouquet of herbs from the garden for Franca Eleftheriades. The finishing touch was musical accompaniment from a traveling choir that also was staying at the villa. It performed during the service and serenaded the Eleftheriades and guests during dinner.

“It was just meant to be,” Eleftheriades said of the impromptu celebration, adding she was grateful to all involved. She already has recommended AAA Travel to other friends planning trips.

A Lifelong Connection

Passariello and the Eleftheriades have remained in touch. “I have wonderful memories of the sensations I felt seeing and realizing that we managed to make their dream come true,” Passariello said. “I was also in tears, along with the entire group who cooperated as if we were one family. It all went well and even more … like when everything aligns perfectly, even exceeding expectations. It seemed like a fairy tale.” 

The couple visited the AAA branch after they returned to show Fujikawa pictures. “She told me stories and I remember how she was all smiles,” said Fujikawa.

“And they booked another vacation.”

She encourages her clients to share with her any special reason for the vacation they are planning. “Based on the occasion, I try my best to make it memorable, whenever possible.” 

Talk to a AAA travel advisor to plan your destination wedding or dream honeymoon. Find your Agent of Honor today.

What is your dream vacation? Tell us in the comments.

The turkey is practically synonymous with Thanksgiving and holiday dinners, a call-back to the wild fowl that still roams the Northeast where pilgrims once landed. In honor of the upcoming holiday, check out these turkey cooking tips for choosing, preparing and roasting the perfect bird.

Holiday Turkey Cooking Tip No. 1: Choosing Your Turkey

When selecting the perfect bird for the center of your holiday table, there’s a surprising variety of turkeys to choose from. If it’s just you and your significant other or a small group of family members this year, consider going for a slightly smaller turkey, choosing a turkey breast or trying something new. From heritage and kosher to organic and free-range birds, there’s more to turkey than simply fresh or frozen.

Prefer an audio summary of this post? Click below to listen to this article.

Heritage

Heritage breed birds are descendants of America’s first turkeys. These turkeys are typically free-range (allowed to roam outside), not as fatty and boast big, slightly gamy flavors thanks of their diverse diets. Heritage birds tend to have smaller breasts, darker meat and cost more than conventional turkeys.

Kosher

Kosher turkeys are processed following kosher standards (no mixing of meat and dairy, avoiding shellfish, etc.) These turkeys can be found fresh or frozen and sometimes organic. Kosher turkeys usually come pre-brined, meaning they’ll hold onto moisture, but you should avoid over-seasoning.

Fresh

Fresh turkeys are never chilled below 26 degrees. They should be kept in the coldest part of your refrigerator and cooked a day or two after purchasing. They are available in organic and/or free-range varieties. These turkeys are milder in flavor compared to heritage and brined kosher birds but are more moist and will cook faster than frozen turkeys.

Frozen

Frozen turkeys need to be thawed in the fridge – about 24 hours for every 5 pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In a pinch, you can submerge your sealed turkey in cold water to help it defrost faster. Frozen turkeys are some of the most widely available and affordable. The ability to buy them so far in advance allows for peace of mind and plenty of time for planning how to prepare it.

Pro Tip: When it comes to deciding on size, there should be about 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of turkey per person you plan to feed.

Holiday Turkey Cooking Tip No. 2: Prep and Seasoning

One of the biggest faux pas you can make when preparing a holiday feast is overcooking the turkey. Avoid making dry, bland turkey with these tips.

Brining

Wet brine your turkey in a seasoned, saltwater solution and refrigerate for 24 hours. Or, dry brine your bird by rubbing the outside with salt and allowing it to rest in the fridge for 24 hours or more. Both will help keep your turkey moist.

Seasoning

When seasoning, you can’t go wrong with classic salt and pepper. Tucking fresh herbs like rosemary, sage or thyme under the skin or inside your bird is another great way to impart flavor. Aromatics like carrots, celery, onion and garlic can also go inside or in a pan under your turkey. For crisp skin, rub the turkey with butter or olive oil.

Glazing

While traditionally seasoned turkeys are great, if you’re looking to try new flavor profiles this year, consider making a glaze, like cranberry-orange, black pepper-pomegranate molasses or mustard-maple. Seasoning your bird with a balance of salty, sweet, spicy and acidic flavors can elevate your entire meal.

Stuffing

For optimal food safety and to allow the turkey to cook as evenly as possible, the USDA recommends cooking stuffing on the side rather than inside your bird. However, if cooking stuffing in the turkey is a must, pack it loosely to allow for proper cooking and use a thermometer to make sure it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Basting

While it may stray from family tradition, basting isn’t necessary to get a moist or flavorful turkey. Basting requires you to repeatedly open the oven, which is something you generally want to avoid. Opening the oven again and again causes heat to escape, prolonging the cooking process and resulting in a dry bird. Flipping your turkey or tenting it with aluminum foil halfway through the cooking process are other methods you can try to trap moisture and get a juicy result.

And don’t forget to use the drippings to make homemade gravy.

Holiday Turkey Cooking Tip No. 3: Cook Time and Resting

Regardless of the type of turkey you choose, the ideal temperature to bring your bird before cooking is 40 to 45 degrees. When roasting your turkey in the oven, plan for about 15 minutes of cook time per pound, plus additional rest time. Again, remember your bird will cook more evenly it’s not densely stuffed. And, try to resist the urge to open your oven unnecessarily.

About 30 minutes before you expect the turkey to finish cooking, use a reliable meat thermometer to check the turkey’s temperature. Insert the thermometer in the meatiest parts of the turkey, making sure to avoid hitting bone.

“The turkey should reach 180 degrees in the thigh, 170 degrees in the breast and 165 degrees in the center of the stuffing,” according to Samantha Woulfe, a Butterball Turkey Talk-Line expert.

If you plan on deep-frying your turkey, make sure you have the necessary equipment: a large turkey frying pot, outdoor propane burner, sturdy stand, ground covering and a fire extinguisher (just in case). Make sure your turkey is completely thawed before frying your bird in 350-degree oil for about 3 1/2 minutes per pound.

After cooking, lock in your turkey’s juices by loosely tenting it with foil and allowing it to rest for at least 30 minutes before you start carving. It’s important to make sure you don’t cover the bird too tightly to avoid steaming and losing any crispy skin.

Carve your turkey using a large cutting board on a stable surface and a chef’s or carving knife. A carving fork can help keep the bird stable while you cut if you don’t want to use your hand. Follow this step-by-step guide for details.

To assure food safety, “leftovers should be stored in containers in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking … [and] eaten or put in the freezer within three days,” said Woulfe.

If you have specific questions or concerns, you can call or text Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line for assistance. Butterball answers more than 100,000 questions every November and December, helping home cooks properly cook their holiday birds. Experts will be available to all cooks, whether you’re preparing a Butterball turkey or not.

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Don’t Forget The Sides

While turkey may be the centerpiece of your holiday meal, the sides are just as important – if not more. When choosing what to make, think about what would complement the meal as a whole, incorporating lots of different flavors and textures to keep a varied tablescape. Our favorites include marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, buttery whipped mashed potatoes, stuffing and this cornbread casserole:

Beverages and Mocktails

When hosting for the holidays, it’s essential to have a variety of drinks your guests can help themselves to. Sparkling cider, soda, eggnog – you name it. Make sure to take stock of what your guests enjoy so you can have their favorite waiting for them.

Mocktails add even more variety to your drink options and are fun for kids, designated drivers and anyone who prefers not to drink alcohol. Try making a mocktail that’s themed to the occasion so it’s even more special.

What’s your favorite thing about Thanksgiving? Tell us in the comments. 

Have you ever wanted to see how people lived in the past? You might be familiar with the major historical events of certain eras, but what was day-to-day life actually like? These living history museums can help you travel back in time with the use of reenactments, architectural preservation, live artisans and hands-on activities.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Massachusetts

Live the elementary-school fantasy of dumping tea in the harbor at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. You can learn from live actors, take part in interactive exhibits and explore full-scale replicas of the ships. AAA members can save on admission.

Pioneer Village

Massachusetts

Billed as the oldest living history museum in America, Salem’s Pioneer Village invites visitors to travel to the year 1630. It’s almost 100 years old itself – as it was originally constructed in 1930. It was even featured in the movie “Hocus Pocus,” representing the home of Thackery Binx. The village is open seasonally for self-guided tours, and usually features special events for October.

Plimoth Patuxet

Massachusetts

Turn the clock back to pilgrim times at Pimoth Patuxet, which recreates Plymouth Colony and the home of the indigenous Patuxet people. Here, you can speak with knowledgeable interpreters in full costume, learn the truth about the first Thanksgiving and even climb aboard a replica of a 17^th century ship. AAA members can get up to $4 off admission.

Old Sturbridge Village

Massachusetts

Visit the 19^th century in Old Sturbridge Village, which boasts over 40 historic buildings across its 240 acres. In fact, it’s the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast. You can see craft demonstrations, participate in interactive workshops, take a horse-drawn carriage ride, tour the beautiful gardens and more.

Coggeshall Farm Museum

Rhode Island

In partnership with Old Sturbridge Village, Coggeshall Farm Museum takes visitors back to the daily experience of a tenant salt marsh farmer in the late 18^th century. This coastal farmland, which stretches across 48 acres, features historic structures, heritage-breed animals, heirloom plants and costumed interpreters.

Strawbery Banke Museum

New Hampshire

Strawbery Banke Museum (yes, it’s spelled correctly) features dozens of historic structures and gardens that take visitors on a tour from the 17^th to the 20^th centuries. Interpreters dressed as shop owners, gardeners and immigrants help visitors learn about how life changed throughout the years.

Mystic Seaport Museum

Connecticut

Learn all about the rich maritime history of New England at the Mystic Seaport Museum, which recreates a historical fishing village and working shipyard. The museum includes over 500 watercrafts with four National Historic Landmark vessels among them. Climb aboard a wooden whaleship, meet skilled artisans and learn from history interpreters.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration

New York

Long Island’s Old Bethpage Village Restoration, set from 1765-1865, consists of 36 historical houses, barns and shops. Get a glass of root beer in the working tavern, churn some butter, see a craft demonstration at the blacksmith, or catch an old-timey baseball game in full historical dress.

Fenimore Farm

New York

Cooperstown might be best-known for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but it also features the sprawling Fenimore Farm. Previously known as the Farmers’ Museum, Fenimore Farm and Country Village recreates rural life from the 19^th century. You can explore more than two dozen period buildings, including a farmstead, pharmacy, tavern, printing office, general store, blacksmith and more. You can also ride the Empire State Carousel while you’re there.

Genesee Country Village and Museum

New York

The Genesee Country Village and Museum is the largest living history museum in New York, featuring 68 buildings illustrating life in the 19^th century. The museum is separated into three different periods as you stroll through the 1800s. The village’s costumed educators and artisans even demonstrate period-appropriate crafts like pottery, barrel-making, blacksmithing and baking.

Allaire State Park

New Jersey

At Allaire State Park, you can ride an old-fashioned steam train or explore the Historic Village at Allaire, an iron-making community from the 19^th century. The park also has a network of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

Howell Living History Farm

New Jersey

The Howell Living History Farm, set in the year 1900, features events like maple sugaring, cider pressing, beekeeping demonstrations, sheep shearing and more. On any given Saturday, there’s bound to be something interesting going on.

Have you ever been to a living history museum? What was it like? Tell us about your trip to the past in the comments below!

Need a ride? AAA members get exclusive Hertz discounts, including up to 20% on Hertz rentals.