Busiest Memorial Day Weekend for travel in 12 years

(KTVU) - Memorial Day weekend has arrived and it is expected to be the busiest Memorial Day weekend for travel in 12 years.

AAA says most people are driving. 

CHP says Memorial Day weekend is one of the most dangerous periods for people on the road. It is a maximum enforcement period, and it started Friday at 6 p.m. and lasts until 11:59 p.m. on Monday.

They say drivers break the law day and night. Officer Mathew Goldstein says, "We see a lot of it in the morning, where people will be celebrating over the weekend and they'll go late into the night and it'll carry over all the way into the morning when they drive home."

During a ride-along we did with the highway patrol, it didn't take long for the officer to find and cite two drivers behaving badly. He spotted a white Toyota pickup driving on the shoulder of the road to try to get around the traffic backup.

The driver says he was rushing because he was late picking up his wife. Soon after that citing, officers spotted a distracted driver in a green minivan.

It appears the driver was taking video with his cell phone while driving.

Triple A says 39 people are traveling and the majority will be hitting the road. Prices at the pump are more than last Memorial Day weekend, but experts say that with an improved economy and lower unemployment- people are willing to spend the money.