ATLANTA — People have already started hitting the roads to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach spoke with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Georgia State Patrol, and AAA about what people should expect,
If you’re driving, this year it won’t cost as much with gas prices down nationwide compared to 2023. AAA said the state average is $2.93 a gallon.
But that’s actually more than this week last year in Georgia after the governor extended the gas tax suspension through the holiday.
This year we’re back paying it, but around the metro, we still found gas under three bucks.
“State troopers and motor carrier officers will be out in full force to make your safety their top priority,” said Col. William Hitchens with the Georgia State Patrol.
Each of the organizations who Gehlbach spoke with shared the same message: buckle up.
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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, crash data for 2018 to 2022 shows the number of people killed on Georgia roads over Thanksgiving jumped 30%. More than half of those victims were not wearing a seatbelt.
“Joining the click simply means be sure to click the seat belt before you get on the road. Our goal is when crashes occur, everyone is able to walk away from that crash,” said Allen Poole with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Director.
Gehlbach also spoke with one driver heading to North Carolina for Thanksgiving, but not leaving till Thursday morning.
“I think about the weather because it’s supposed to be raining a little bit. Driving I don’t worry as much as flying with the amount of traffic and stuff like that on the road,” traveler Henry Dowling said.
But another driver told Gehlbach that he’s staying home this holiday.
“I’m going to stay right here in town,” the driver said. “Save money and save distance and transportation.”
A study of the same five years of crash data found that Friday is the most dangerous day on the roads in Georgia with the most fatal crashes over the Thanksgiving weekend.
That was followed closely by Sunday, then Thanksgiving Day itself.
When breaking it down by the time of day, most crashes happened in the evening during the 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. hour.
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