Reminder to buckle up for Thanksgiving

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Highways will have increased traffic this week for Thanksgiving, according to projections by AAA Southern New England. They estimate over 43 million Americans will travel fifty miles or more from home during the holiday weekend -- and every single one of them needs to be buckled up, according to RIDOT.

"We urge motorists to drive carefully, obey speed limits, designate a sober driver, and to always wear a seat belt" throughout the year, as well as for this Thanksgiving week, said RIDOT Director Michael P. Lewis in a news release Tuesday.

From now till next Monday, RIDOT, the Rhode Island State Police and Rhode Island's local police departments will be watching drivers and passengers closely, and those who aren't wearing seat belts will be stopped and issued tickets.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says wearing your lap and shoulder seat belts properly is the single most effective way to protect yourself and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.

"Of the 37 motor vehicle fatalities in Rhode Island in 2011, 22 people or 60 percent were not wearing seat belts. Unfortunately, only 77.5 percent of Rhode Islanders currently wear their seat belts. This is below the national average of 86 percent," RIDOT reps said in the release.