Authorities step up holiday patrols

ATLANTA — Authorities statewide will be out in full force this Thanksgiving.

Authorities statewide are cracking down of motorists who are not wearing seat belts as part of the annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

“Seatbelts have saved more lives than any other single piece of automotive safety equipment,” GOHS Director Harris Blackwood said in a news release. “But in order for them to work, they have to be used and they have to be used correctly.  This Thanksgiving, and every day and night of the year, be sure to buckle your seatbelt and you’ll have the opportunity to unbuckle that other belt at the feast table with your family and friends.”

During the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday, 303 people died in traffic crashes nationwide, including 115 during daylight hours and 187 during the night time.

In addition, 35 new troopers will be patrolling by Thanksgiving. They graduated recently from the 88th Georgia State Patrol Trooper School at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.

“Thanksgiving is the holiday most closely associated with family and travel,” Blackwood said. “But if you hit the highways unbelted, the faces you could be seeing this holiday might belong to an emergency room doctor or nurse instead of the faces of your loved ones.”