State Police Offer Thanksgiving Weekend Driving Safety Tips

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is traditionally the busiest travel holiday weekend of the year, and the Massachusetts State Police expect this year to be no exception. The State Police will have increased patrols on the roadways to help ensure a safe Thanksgiving holiday, and urges motorists to plan ahead in anticipation of heavy traffic. The heaviest traffic is expected to be on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 and Sunday, November 30, 2008. The State Police advise those with flexible travel plans to avoid travelling during these peak travel times, and prepare for their trip by familiarizing themselves with the following driving safety tips:

• Continuously Monitor Current Traffic Conditions: Motorists are reminded that they may call the Commonwealth's 511 traffic information line from their cellular phones for real time traffic information.
  
• Schedule Extra Time to Get to Your Destination: The State Police urge motorists to afford themselves extra time to get to their destination to account for heavy traffic and unexpected delays.
  
• Vehicle Preparation: Motorists are urged to ensure that they have a full tank of gas before beginning their trip, and to have the proper emergency equipment on hand in the event that their vehicle becomes disabled. Motorists should have a properly inflated spare tire, a lug wrench, jack, flashlight, road flares or other illuminating devices, fully charged cellular phone, and warm winter clothing.
  
• Adjust Your Speed to Road, Weather and Traffic Conditions.
  
• Do Not Follow Too Closely: Following too closely is the cause of a very large percentage of rear-end crashes in moderate to heavy traffic. Motorists should always allow at least one car length for every ten miles per hour between their car and the car in front of them.
  
• Avoid Drowsy Driving: Drowsy driving is a serious hazard that is the principal cause of thousands of motor vehicle crashes in the United States every year. Sleep deprivation is known to degrade all physical and mental capacities in similar ways to alcohol intoxication. The State Police urge motorists to plan regularly scheduled breaks when travelling long distances, and to pull over as soon as they feel sleepy or fatigued. While caffeine is a useful temporary alertness aid, the only safe proven way to combat drowsy driving is to pull over to a safe parking area and take a 20-minute nap.
  
• Do Not Drink and Drive: The State Police will have extra patrols and sobriety checkpoints over the holiday weekend looking for impaired operators. If your holiday plans call for celebrating with alcohol, plan on staying overnight or designating a driver.
  
• Ensure that all Occupants in Your Vehicle are Properly Restrained: The State Police will have extra patrols over the holiday weekend looking for unrestrained motorists. Ensuring that everyone in your vehicle is properly restrained is the single most effective thing that motorists can do to keep themselves and their loved ones safe on the roads this holiday weekend.
  
• Dial 911 in Roadway Emergencies: Motorists who become disabled or encounter an emergency on the roadways should dial 911 and report their location and the nature of the emergency. Motorists should always be aware of their location, noting the route they are traveling on and the number of the exit they most recently passed.