FORSYTH, Ga. — To prepare for Thanksgiving travel, the Georgia Department of Transportation says it opened more lanes to travelers this week, and the roads are filling up.
1.5 million Georgians are expected to hit the road this week.
"We're driving from Powder Springs en route to Savannah," Mark Lucas said.
Like many others, Lucas hit Interstate 75 early Wednesday morning.
"We're visiting friends. We're having a Friendsgiving," he shared.
Along the way they ran into traffic backups.
"Before McDonough there was an accident that put an extra 20 minutes on to the ride," Lucas shared.
After that, he said the rest of his ride was smooth, and people around him drove safe.
Lucky drivers like Gwen Franklin saw light traffic throughout her trip to South Georgia.
"We're on a Peach Pass, so we got to go by a lot of traffic," she said.
Franklin says, in the normal lanes, it was busy and she saw a crash too.
"That was a big problem down in the Jonesboro area," Franklin said.
Sgt. Raul Mejia with the Georgia State Patrol is taking the driver's seat all weekend to make sure everyone gets to their destination safely.
"Already I've pulled over a few people. They've been texting and driving on their phone. They haven't been wearing their seatbelts. They're speeding," he said.
He says Georgia State Patrol is out more than normal, especially on Sunday.
"We definitely team up with our local agencies with the sheriff's departments and the police departments to make sure we're all on the same page enforcing the same traffic laws," he said.
They're checking for rules of the road like making sure no one is texting and driving, everyone wears a seatbelt, and there are no drunk drivers. He says G-DOT also lit up more digital signs reminding you to drive safely.
Mejia says there are other ways to stay safe.
"Watch out for buses, large vehicles, tractor-trailers because they have blind spots," Mejia said.
Franklin says her road trip safety tool is just to stay alert.
"Be aware of your surroundings. You got to look at everybody that's for sure," she said.
Folks driving back this weekend can expect heavy traffic on Saturday and Sunday, but the busiest will be on Sunday between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.