Nov 25, 2015 4 min read

AAA forecasts that nearly 47 million Americans will journey more than 50 miles from home this Thanksgiving, the most travelers since 2007.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, an estimated 5.57 million holiday travelers will hit the road, up 1.4 percent from 2014.

With that in mind, state and local police joined forces with state Department of Transportation officials on Tuesday to encourage travelers to drive safely during the holiday season.

Representatives from PennDOT, state police in Washington and the Washington County DUI Task Force kicked off the Operation Safe Holiday campaign at the Washington County Victims Memorial Garden at Courthouse Square in Washington to bring attention to the number of crashes and fatalities that occur during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Operation Safe Holiday includes additional police patrolling the highways to enforce seat belt and child safety seat use, and state police will set up sobriety checkpoints and roving DUI patrols this week. Police also will crack down on speeding and aggressive driving.

The statewide operation runs through the New Year’s holiday.

The holidays are a peak season for traffic accidents and deaths involving alcohol or other drugs because of the increased number of parties, social gatherings and other holiday celebrations that people attend, according to PennDOT.

“The holiday season should be a time of happiness, joy, and sharing time with family and friends, a time of fond memories. Unfortunately, for 80 Pennsylvania families, this season will be a reminder of the loved ones they lost during last year’s holiday season,” said John Ofsanik, PennDOT spokesman.

There were 4,311 crashes and 39 fatalities statewide in 2014 during the Thanksgiving travel period alone, which includes the weekends before and after the holiday.

Of the 80 fatalities that occurred during the holiday season, 35 of those – 44 percent – involved an impaired driver, said Ofsanik.

Fourteen of the fatalities happened in Region 6, which includes Southwestern Pennsylvania, and 5 occurred in Washington County.

“Our goal is to reduce the number of holiday fatalities to make this holiday season a time of fond memories, not a time for sad reminders of family and friends needlessly lost,” said Ofsanik.

Trooper Matthew Jardine, spokesman for the state police in Washington, said state police will aggressively enforce “any traffic violation that would endanger the motoring public.”

Drivers will get a break this year: Americans will likely pay the lowest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2008, according to Jim Lehman, president of AAA East Central. Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.15, 67 cents less than the average price on Thanksgiving last year.

Air travel in the Mid-Atlantic region is predicted to be down .7 percent from last year’s number of 472,000, although nationally it is expected to increase by .1 percent, with 3.6 imllion Americans flying to their holiday destinations.

The AAA’s forecast was released five days before the State Department issues a worldwide travel alert for Americans, citing increased terrorism threats worldwide and advising U.S. citizens to “avoid large crowds or crowded places,” especially during the holiday season.

The alert, which runs through Feb. 24, also warned Americans of the risks of using public transportation and attending theater and sporting events.

Jardine said law enforcement officials have not received any specific threats for the Pittsburgh area, and said police are being vigilant.

He also encouraged motorists to remember commonly overlooked Pennsylvania traffic laws when out on the road: Keep right and pass only on the left; move right for approaching emergency vehicles; move over or slow down for police, emergency responders, road crews and tow-truck operators on the side of the road; use headlights and wipers when driving in bad weather; and clear your vehicle of ice or snow before traveling in the winter.

“Don’t forget the basics,” said Jardine. “And keep in mind that we will be strictly enforcing all crash-causing violations, especially alcohol and seat belt-related.”

AAA encouraged travelers to download a free mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android that they can use to map a route, find lowest gas prices, access member discounts, make travel arrangements, request AAA roadside assistance, and find AAA-approved auto repair facilities.