CHARLOTTE, N.C. – AAA says Carolinians will break records this year for Fourth of July traffic.

• Overall, the number of Carolinians traveling is up five percent.
• The worst traffic will be on July 3, according to AAA. 
• AAA defines the holiday period as July 3 - July 8. 

More than 661,500 South Carolinians and 1,312,500 North Carolinians will travel 50 miles or more from home, which is five percent more than last year.

“Despite high gas prices, Carolinians appear to be traveling in record numbers to celebrate Independence Day. Confident consumers with additional disposable income will look to spend on travel this holiday, adding to an already busy summer travel season," said AAA Carolinas spokesperson Tiffany Wright.

Of those numbers, 153,556 Carolinians overall will travel by air (a 7.9 percent increase), 1,765,630 will drive (a 5.1 percent increase) and 75,118 will use other forms of transportation.

According to AAA, the worst traffic will be July 3 in the late afternoon.

Heading into Fourth of July, gas prices are slowly stabilizing.

AAA defines the "Independence Holiday period" as from Tuesday, July 3 to Sunday, July 8.