With the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases and access to vaccines, more Mississippians are traveling this Thanksgiving Holiday than last year. Captain Criss Turnipseed with the Mississippi Highway Patrol says today marks the official start of the holiday rush and it ends Sunday at midnight. He says troopers are working overtime to monitor traffic for dangerous drivers.
“It’s usually always an uptick of people driving under the influence out there on the roadways too. So, it’s just issues that happen everyday on our roadways any time you have a period where there’s more people traveling. It just kinda puts a magnifying glass and multiplies the issues that we run into daily,” Turnipseed said.
Issues such as speeding, texting while driving, children not properly restrained and people not wearing seatbelts. AAA Spokesperson Don Redmon is expecting 48 million people on the nation’s highways over the holiday. They’re urging drivers to make sure their vehicles are checked before they travel.
“One of the easiest things we can do and most often overlooked is making sure our tires are in good shape. So, if you check out your tires, make sure they’re properly inflated. Check out your auto battery as well. If your destination includes some place that may have some freezing temperatures, you want to make sure that you have a good battery,” Redmon said.
Redmon says also check the air in the spare tire. He says AAA will help at least 400,000 stranded drivers during the holiday. He also advises people to check for pandemic restrictions before they leave for their destinations, so they are prepared.
Last year state troopers made 115 DUI arrests. A third arrest for DUI is a felony and can lead to jail time. Also during Thanksgiving last year there were 246 crashes and six deaths.
