By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

With AAA forecasting a slight increase in Thanksgiving highway travel, law enforcement will be out on the roads showing a heavy presence in hopes that drivers get to their destinations safely without being impaired or distracted.

According to AAA’s projections, 43.6 million Americans will be driving 50 miles or more away from home between through Sunday for the family-gathering holiday, or a 0.7 percent increase from the 43.3 million people who traveled last year. Wednesday was expected to be busiest travel day.

“Although leisure travel is forecast to make just modest gains from last year, it’s still a positive sign to see growth for the fourth year in a row,” Vice President Brent Hubele said in a release on the AAA Travel website.

The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline opened the week at $3.44, four cents less than last week. The average in the Orlando area was $3.27, down nine cents from a year ago.

With cheaper gas and expected good weather, area roads will be filled with drivers. In an attempt to keep tabs, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office plans to have additional units on the roads during peak times, such as Wednesday and next weekend, said spokesperson Twis Lizasuain.

“We’ll have increased patrols as well as our specialty units that focus on aggressive drivers and DUI enforcement,” she said. “We recognize the number of motorists that will be out there.”

The agency will engage in saturation patrols, which have become commonplace in the last couple of months, today as well as Wednesday, Friday and Nov. 28. That extra enforcement, which was in place during Halloween and also last weekend, was made possible through a grant the office received from the Florida Department of Transportation.

“They’ve helped us make quite a few arrests,” Lizasuain said.

The city of St. Cloud reminds motorists of its participation in the 511 Traveler Information System, which helps inform residents avoid high-volume traffic and increasing safety through the 5-1-1 phone line, the FL511.com website, an iPhone app and a series of Twitter feeds.

Real-time information is available on traffic, accidents, road closures, and severe weather on major roads in Florida. Callers may hear real-time reports on all interstate highways in the state and Florida’s Turnpike.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers will be on the lookout for aggressive driving violations such as following too closely, unsafe lane changes and speeding as part of an enforcement phase that began on Monday. The campaign will also use billboard messaging to increase awareness among car and truck drivers of safe driving behaviors around one another and of the heightened risk of receiving a ticket for a violation.

FHP also encourages drivers to slow down and use low-beam headlights when encountering smoke or fog. The 5-1-1 system can be utilized to determine if such conditions exist.