MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) -- The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a release that your most cherished gift this holiday season is arriving home safely.
Starting tomorrow, their "12 Days of Safety" campaign hopes to promote safe driving habits and prevent avoidable tragedies on the road.
"Oh, we've had a great time. We left on Thursday," said Beth and Avi Brandvain, travelers coming through Montgomery. "It was about an eight hour drive to Nashville."
On a 10-day road trip to Mobile, both Brandvain's stopped in Montgomery from Detroit, Michigan to take in the state's history. They said traffic is not a concern. "No. Not at all. We're not in a hurry," they explained.
If you are in a hurry, Lt. Jeremy Burkett warned that troopers will be out in full force. It's all part of their "12 Days of Safety" campaign, spreading safety messages on social media and in other ways.
"We really want people to take it serious. Because, at the end of the day, when somebody loses their life in a traffic crash, their family, I promise you, they take it seriously," said Burkett. He urged drivers to wear their seat belt, and be alert around commercial motor vehicles, like tractor-trailers.
"We'll have saturation details set up there. We have lidar details, meaning we actually use laser detecting devices that allows us to detect speed very accurately," Burkett explained.
When it comes to speed, Clay Ingram with AAA Alabama said to pack your patience this Christmas. He said over 113 million people are traveling 50 miles or more nationwide.
"Just slightly above what we saw in 2019," he remarked. "Which previously held the all-time record for the Christmas holiday travel season. So, it's gonna be busy in the travel season whether you're flying, driving, or walking."
And if you're driving, he had one word of advice. "Alabama is one of the lowest price states in the country. And so, most of the surrounding states in the southeast have noticeably higher gas prices," explained Ingram. "So if you're heading to Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, in those directions, you wanna be sure you fill up your tank before you cross the state line to save a little money."
Saturday, Dec. 21 is the first official day of winter. As such, day one of the campaign is all about winterizing your vehicle and making sure you're prepared to travel.