As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, officials from across the state and Lackawanna County are urging drivers to stay safe.

SCRANTON, Pa. — Millions of drivers will be hitting the roadways across Pennsylvania this holiday season.

But before people start traveling to their Thanksgiving destinations this week, Lackawanna County and state officials are urging drivers to be safe and sober.

“Because the last thing we want to do is, during the holidays, go to a family and tell them that one of their loved ones isn’t coming home because of a drunk driving incident or a distracted driving incident,” said Trooper Robert Urban with Pennsylvania State Police.

Officials with Pennsylvania State Police, Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office, Geisinger, Pennsylvania DUI Association, and PennDOT came together at Geisinger CMC to remind drivers of the risks that can come when making a poor decision while behind the wheel.

“If you’re making the decision to, you know, drive under the influence, you’re going faster than you think, you may not remember to put on your seatbelt, and that stuff. So those accidents definitely tend to have where people will come in with a bunch of broken bones, they’ll come in maybe with a collapsed lung, they’ll come in with a head injury and have blood on their brain,” said Dr. David Deisher, a Geisinger CMC Trauma Surgeon.

“So on the weekend before Thanksgiving through Thanksgiving week and the weekend after, there were 4,011 crashes in Pennsylvania. There were 40 fatalities, and I know there’s at least 700 DUI arrests made in the Commonwealth,” said Shawn Noonan, Pennsylvania DUI Association. “Those numbers are way too high.”

The Pennsylvania Turnpike anticipates approximately 3.4 million drivers from Tuesday through Sunday, a slight increase from 2024.

D.A. Brian Gallagher says their message is to just be safe, “This isn’t about statistics. It’s not about arresting people for DUI or messing up their holidays. It’s just about making sure that everyone’s safe, everyone gets home safe, and everyone enjoys their holiday with their family and friends.”

Law enforcement says increased patrols and other safety measures will be happening over the holiday season in Lackawanna County and across the state.