State Troopers Step Up Patrols For Thanksgiving Holiday

The Thanksgiving holiday is typically one of the busiest travel periods of the year -- 102 hours long, the Georgia Department of Public Safety reports.

This year, the holiday will kick off at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 and end midnight Sunday, Nov. 29.

While you occupy your down time with Thanksgiving meals, friends and family, the Georgia State Patrol will be burning the midnight oil to ensure the roads you rely on remain safe for traveling.

Troopers will be conducting concentrated patrols and road checks throughout the state, strictly enforcing seat belt laws and watching for impaired drivers, the agency said Thursday.

“Each year, troopers work numerous crashes that could have been prevented if drivers had made safety a priority,” said Colonel Mark W. McDonough, Georgia Department of Public Safety commissioner.

During a similar 102-hour travel period in 2014, troopers investigated 676 traffic crashes that resulted in 288 injuries and 15 fatalities.

In addition to investigating traffic crashes last year, the Georgia State Patrol issued approximately 7,000 citations; 12,000 warnings; and made 264 arrests for driving under the influence.

To travel safely to and from your destinations, McDonough encourages residents to wear their seatbelts and to properly restrain children. He also instructs residents not to text and drive, obey the speed limit and do not drive impaired.

The Georgia State Patrol will also be teaming up with law enforcement officials from across the state in Operation Click It or Ticket, Georgia’s high visibility seat belt enforcement program and Operation C.A.R.E., or Combined Accident Reduction Effort.

Operation C.A.R.E. is a nationwide traffic safety initiative among state highway patrols and state police agencies where troopers and officers across the United States and Canada work together during holiday periods to reduce the number of traffic deaths through high visibility patrols and education.

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Image via Georgia Department of Public Safety