ORLANDO, Fla. – Transportation officials and law enforcement are preparing for busy roads as a near-record amount of people are expected to travel for Thanksgiving.
According to AAA, 2.8 million Floridians will take a road trip of 50 miles or more, which is nearly 71,000 more drivers than last year. The forecasted travel volume is 10,000 shy of the all-time high set during the 2005 Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
With so many people on the road, the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Highway Patrol are uniting with a message of safety.
“Making sure you’re doing your routine maintenance like tire rotation, tire inspection,” FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said. “Under the hood check your hoses, your fluids, make sure your windshield wipers are properly maintained and changed out when they need to be.”
Crescenzi said drivers need to avoid distractions, which can be especially dangerous with the increased traffic volume.
“It’s a huge issue. In 2022 there was 1,116 distracted driving crashes,” Crescenzi said. “So let that passenger be your co-pilot. Let them check the GPS, change the song or answer the call. It’s too dangerous to take your eyes off the road.”
Holiday travelers can check roadway conditions on FL511.com, which is the home of FDOT’s Florida 511 traveler information system.
FDOT also provides help to stranded motorists. Road rangers are a free service who provide limited roadside assistance, including changing a tire or assisting with minor mechanical repairs.
“Whether they run out of gas, oil, water, or they’re involved in a crash, they can dial *FHP (*347) and we’ll send those Road Rangers out to assist them,” FDOT spokesman Garrett Popovich said.
If drivers see a road ranger vehicle or first responder on the side of the road, they’re reminded to abide by Florida’s Move Over Law.
“We want to make sure everyone gets home, so it’s really important that you move over and if you can’t move over, do what the law says and travel 20 mph under the posted speed limit,” Popovich said.
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