State and local law enforcement agencies and AAA will work to make sure people stay safe on streets and highways this Thanksgiving weekend.

The Muskogee Police Department will conduct roadside safety checks at various locations throughout town from Wednesday through Saturday. Officers will be checking for driving violations as well as safe vehicles, said Muskogee Police spokesman Brad Holt.

Holt could not say where the stops would be located or how many are expected.

“We may be in back roads, we may be in residential areas,” he said. “We’re just out to make sure people are safe.”

The Police Department has been doing safety checks for about a year, he said. Officers are volunteering extra duty for the safety checks. He said the checks may involve seeing if a tail light is working or if people are wearing their seat belts.

Oklahoma Department of Public Safety officials say they expect an increase in traffic Wednesday evening and Friday morning. The Oklahoma Highway Safety office reported that 15 people lost their lives and 346 people were injured over the Thanksgiving holiday period in 2008. About 67 percent of those killed were not wearing seat belts.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol will participate in the nationwide traffic enforcement effort called CARE, or Combined Accident Reduction Effort. Through the program, troopers will concentrate their activities toward alcohol-related offenses and speeding as well as seat belt and child restraint usage.

With the troopers’ high visibility on the roads enforcing the laws and assisting the motoring public, it is hoped all motorists will remind themselves to drive responsibly," said OHP spokesman Lt. George Brown. "We want the holiday to be safe and enjoyable, and ask those who plan holiday trips to exercise caution when driving to and from their destination."

Muskogee motorists who suspect they had too much to drink can take advantage of a free tow service offered through AAA. Under the program, motorists can call AAA’s toll-free number and ask for Tipsy Tow. AAA will then dispatch someone to give the inebriated motorist a free ride home within a 15-mile radius.

Tipsy Tow will be in effect from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 10 p.m. Sunday.

The service also will be available in Ardmore, Enid, Lawton and Shawnee, as well as the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas.

This is the first year AAA has offered the service for Thanksgiving, though it has been offered at New Year’s Eve and Christmas, Oklahoma AAA Spokesman Chuck Mai said.

“We do not expect the same number over Thanksgiving as we do over Christmas or New Years,” he said. “Forty percent of all crashes over the holidays involve alcohol.”

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskopgeephoenix.com.