Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time of food, family and football. This year the Virginia State Police is encouraging holiday revelers and travelers to start the 2009 holiday weekend with a new tradition: wearing a safety belt.

With hundreds of extra vehicles on Virginia roads during the Thanksgiving weekend, drivers and passengers are reminded to be safe and responsible in their travels by always buckling up.

Of the 12 individuals killed in traffic crashes in Virginia during the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday, nine had failed to buckle up. So far this year (January 2009 – October 2009), Virginia State Police have cited 24,567 adults and teenagers for failing to obey the law and use a seat belt.

Another 6,422 summonses have been issued for adults failing to properly secure a child or infant in a child/booster seat.

“Buckling up only takes a matter of seconds and is one of the easiest and surest ways to increase your chances of surviving a traffic crash,” says Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent. “So, why run the risk of endangering yourself by not wearing a seat belt? Why run the risk of getting a ticket for failing to obey the law? Why not start this Thanksgiving holiday with a new tradition of always wearing your safety belt? It truly is a law we can live with.”

The Virginia State Police is currently participating in the statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement wave that began November 15 and continues through November 22.

During the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, state police will be conducting its annual Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E.), a state-sponsored, national program intended to decrease traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities as a result of speeding, impaired driving and failure to use safety restraints. The traffic-safety program is conducted during the year’s national holidays.

During the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday, state police cited 915 safety belt violations and 220 child restraint violations. Troopers also took 188 impaired drivers off the road, and stopped 9,628 speeders and 2,815 reckless drivers.

Last year, 12 people died in traffic crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday. In 2007, 19 were killed; 16 were killed in 2006; 20 in 2005; and 19 in 2004.

With 75 percent of troopers working the roads during the holiday, the Department reminds all motorists about Virginia’s “Move Over” law, which requires drivers to change to another travel lane or, when unable to, to slow down and cautiously pass all emergency personnel stopped on the side of a road.