T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Drivers are reminded to exercise caution during the Thanksgiving holiday, since there are expected to be more cars on the road. Heavy Thanksgiving traffic predicted

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Heavy traffic is expected this Thanksgiving, with the American Automobile Association projecting more than 50 million people will be on the roads nationwide.

Sgt. Rocky Hise of the St. Clairsville post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol has advice for drivers hoping for a happy and safe holiday.

“With the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the biggest aspects is traffic on the roadway, because people are trying to get to their families and get to their loved ones, and they’re going to be utilizing the roads to get there,” he said. “The patrol’s going to make a concerted effort to be as visible as possible, and to try to make sure everyone can get to their loved ones and to their Thanksgiving dinners as swiftly as possible.”

He said the expected weather conditions and other factors mean many people likely will be out during the holiday.

“When it comes to weather in general for our local area, things have been really mild. People are still out and about, and with that people tend to push the envelope when it comes to traveling,” he said.

“Based upon my experiences when it comes to the Thanksgiving holiday, you’re looking at two primary busy times: the day or so leading up to Thanksgiving, with people at work on Wednesday. But then they get into their vehicle, load their family up and try to get to the loved one’s house or the family’s house. You’re looking at usually Wednesday. The day of Thanksgiving’s not usually as busy because most of the time people are at their locations, but when it comes on the tail-ends you’re looking at Black Friday and then when it comes into the weekend, people having either a long weekend or trying to get back home for the beginning of the week next week,” he said.

He also noted that the beginning of deer gun season is Nov. 27.

Hise said federal overtime will be used to make certain troopers are out in force for Thanksgiving.

“It’s business as usual. We’re going to be out and try to be as effective and as highly visible as possible,” he said. “As a rule of thumb, time and distance is a motorist’s best friend. Give yourself plenty of time, and give yourself plenty of distance on the roadway.”

Ohio AAA spokesman Bill Purpura said a high volume of traffic is expected nationwide.

“This is going to be a very busy Thanksgiving travel holiday, probably the third busiest since AAA started forecasting in 2000, so we’re expecting 55.4 million people either hitting the road, hitting the runways, cruising or touring. It’s going to be a busy holiday. We’re excited about it,” he said. “Here in Ohio, we’re expecting 2.2 million Ohioans to be traveling, and that’s a 2.3% increase over last year and nationally it’s a 2.3% increase over last year.

“These kinds of numbers are really good for the economy. It’s all trickle down, whether you stop at a gas station, whether you’re shopping while traveling, all those things add up. One of the things we’re seeing also is prices are going down in some areas. Hotel prices have dropped. Rental cars have dropped,” he said, adding that last year at this time gas prices were about $3.58 per gallon and are now about $3.30 per gallon.

“Clearly with this number of people on the road, we’re going to see an increase in emergency road service calls for AAA, there’s no doubt,” he said, adding that motorists are advised to carry an emergency road kit with flares, a flashlight, screwdrivers, wrenches, jumper cables and extra water and food.

“Make sure your car is road-ready before you even hit the road,” Purpura said.

He advises drivers to avoid rush hours of Wednesday afternoon, Friday afternoon and Sunday throughout the day if possible.

“Most people will be traveling by car by far, but we are also going to be seeing a big jump in air travel of over 6%, so the airports are going to be busy, the roads are going to be busy, and we are urging whether you are traveling by car, whether you are traveling by plane, to expect delays, take your time. If you’re driving, make sure your car is road-ready and, last but not least, be kind to your fellow travelers. Everybody’s out to see family and friends, and we all want to get where we need to safely and have a good time.”