OSHP warns travelers to buckle up

Folks trav­el­ing this Thanks­giv­ing hol­i­day are strongly encour­aged to buckle up. That’s the word from the Ohio State High­way Patrol, say­ing that we“aring a safety belt is the sin­gle most effec­tive thing you can do to pro­tect your­self in a crash.”

In Ohio last year dur­ing the Thanks­giv­ing hol­i­day week­end, 23 peo­ple were killed in 20 crashes on Ohio’s road­ways. Seven of the 23 fatal­i­ties, 30 per­cent, were the result of an impaired driver.

Troop­ers will be out in full force this week­end, OSHP announced in a release today.

AAA pre­dicts more than 47 mil­lion Amer­i­cans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the hol­i­day. The Patrol expects traf­fic to increase Wednes­day after­noon and is urg­ing motorists to con­tribute to high­way safety by plan­ning ahead for pos­si­ble delays and mak­ing safety their first priority.

Troop­ers rec­om­mend that motorists con­tact the Patrol by call­ing #677 to report drug activ­ity or impaired drivers.