COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — With Memorial Day Weekend soon approaching it is the official kick off for summer travel. 

There will be a surplus of cars on the road making it more important than ever to practice safe driving.

There are going to be an estimated 1.1 million cars on the road in Georgia for Memorial Day Weekend. With more cars on the road in close proximity to one another, accidents occur more frequently. 

A large percentage of accidents are due to impaired, distracted, fatigued driving, weather, and neglecting car maintenance.

Triple A is estimated to rescue 483,000 motor vehicles this week around the United States. A large percentage of rescue will be because of flat tires, lockouts and dead batteries.

Representatives from both the Department of Transportation and Triple A shared some tips on how to stay safe on the road this weekend. 

“So here at Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), we always ask our motorists on the road and pedestrians to always drive responsibly. You know, drive alert, arrive alive is our campaign first and foremost. Always buckle up, have your seatbelt on. It is the law, and it will help save your life if you are in a crash. Also, please stay off your phones and mobile devices. I can’t stress this enough. We’ve seen a lot of this. Georgia is a hands-free state, as we all know,” shared the District Communications Officer of Georgia Department of Transportation Gina Snider. 

Montare Waiters Public & Government Relations Consultant for Triple A shares tips for parents and new teen drivers on how to be safe this week and summer.

“Having a lot of passengers, especially preteens, can become a distraction for them. So if you have one other person in a car, that’s not a big deal. But when teens start to have, you know, three and four, everybody’s talking, not paying attention, that can also become a distraction. So parents to make sure that they have, you know, conversations about how to drive safely when they hit the road this summer,” said Waiters. 

“Teaching teenagers to about maintenance checks, the tires, talking to them about, you know, making sure, you know, when they leave to they have a full tank of gas that’s important as well to, you know, maintenance for the car, making sure that, you know.”

Triple A offers a teen safety driving course online that provides both parent and teen with helpful driving tips.