Low gas prices can be thanked for an anticipated increase in the number of Arkansans and Americans traveling for this week's Thanksgiving holiday.
About 46.9 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles to visit family and friends, which is a 0.6 percent increase over last year, according to the motor and leisure travel organization AAA. This year is forecast to be the most travel-heavy Thanksgiving holiday period since 2007.
Driving remains the most popular mode of transportation for those traveling during the week's holiday period, which AAA defines as lasting from Wednesday to Sunday. That might be due to extra savings at the gas pump. It's estimated by AAA that Americans are saving about $265 million every day on gas compared with a year ago.
And with more people on the roads, law enforcement agencies across the nation are planning to make their presence known.
Arkansas State Police will join other state troopers from across the nation "to create a chain of law enforcement presence at least every twenty miles" along Interstate 40 from Barstow, Calif., to Wilmington, N.C., from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release.
It's a reminder to drivers to buckle up during what state police said is one of the deadliest times of the year on America's roads. In the news release, state police said 301 passenger-vehicle occupants died in crashes nationwide during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2013.
"To lose a loved one is a terrible thing to experience, especially during America's family holiday. However, it is truly senseless to lose one's life when it might have been saved by taking two seconds to buckle a safety belt," said Col. Bill Bryant, director of the Arkansas State Police.
North Little Rock police will be stepping up their enforcement of unbuckled motorists beginning today as part of the national Click It or Ticket campaign, officer Carmen Helton said in a news release.
Spokesmen for the Little Rock Police Department and the Pulaski County sheriff's office said their departments were not doing any special enforcement for the holiday.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is advising that drivers check IDriveArkansas.com before departing for holiday destinations. Drivers could encounter work zones and delays because of increased traffic and ongoing highway projects throughout the state, the Highway Department said in a news release.
A westbound lane of Interstate 30 in Benton in Saline County will be closed for 4 miles from mile markers 107 to 111. And in White Hall in Jefferson County, lanes in both directions of Interstate 530 will be closed for 7 miles from mile markers 23 to 30.
The forecast could change in the coming days, but as of Saturday the National Weather Service in North Little Rock said there was a 50 percent chance of rain on Thanksgiving, with highs expected to be in the 60s and lows in the 50s.
Metro on 11/23/2015