Georgia – State troopers and safety officers throughout Georgia are well prepared for one of the biggest travel weekends of the year. They advise drivers to slow down, buckle up, and keep vigilant as families hit the road for Thanksgiving. Officials said that patrols on interstates and state highways will be up a lot throughout the long holiday. The enforcement window is from 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 30, 2025. Their goal is simple: to have fewer accidents, less injuries, and more people coming to dinner instead of the emergency room.
The campaign comes with an alert and a memory. The Thanksgiving travel period in 2024 finished with some scary numbers: 684 collisions, 349 reported injuries, and 17 deaths across the state. Troopers looked into nine of the deadly crashes on their own. The enforcement effort also led to the arrest of 474 drunk drivers, as well as more than 17,000 tickets and over 24,000 warnings. This record weighs heavily on the new push, reminding everyone of what is at stake when traffic gets heavy and people stop paying attention.
Officials say they are matching the urgency of last year with even more visibility. Along busy roads where long-distance drivers and local travelers are likely to share the same lanes, there will be patrol cars, unmarked units, and commercial vehicle officers. The message behind the enforcement effort is clear and consistent: driving safely saves lives, and basic choices like not being distracted, wearing seatbelts, and planning ahead are more important than most people think.
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Colonel William W. Hitchens III, the head of the Department of Public Safety, advised people in Georgia to take every mile seriously. He reminded everyone quickly but clearly that seatbelts save lives and that everyone in the car should be fully strapped in before the wheels start to turn. Officials want people to be just as careful while they travel as they are when they celebrate, as the weekend is known for food, family gatherings, and busy roads.
There is a reason to be cautious. AAA’s travel forecasts say that this Thanksgiving might see record numbers of people moving around. Almost 73 million people are projected to travel by car, which is almost nine out of ten holiday travelers in the US. The number is already greater than it was last year, and it could go up even more if more people are forced to drive instead of fly because of more airline cancellations. Troopers plan to deal with the higher risk of more cars on the road by patrolling all the time and not allowing anyone to drive while drunk.
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The reminder is clear: drive sober, rested, and aware. Officers will be out in full force until Sunday night, hoping that being careful now will stop a serious incident from happening later. They also hope that Thanksgiving concludes with warm homes instead of roadside lights.
