With the weather already cold, holiday decorations lining the shelves and the region's first snowflakes already on the ground, the Thanksgiving Holiday is upon us and that means one thing for certain - lots of traffic.

Because your safety is its number one priority, the Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration is making a number of holiday preparations of its own to ensure that motorists have a safe and smooth trip. Together with Choose Safety for Life campaign partners, SHA urges drivers to review the rules of the road as part of every holiday menu. Hundreds of lives could be saved every year, if everyone followed the five key tenets in B-SAFE: Buckle up, Slow down - speeding kills, Always drive sober, Focus, Everyone share the road - everyone gets home.

Lower gas prices will result in heavy traffic volumes this Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, which means motorists will have to exercise care and caution in their travels. Travelers are urged to log onto marylandroads.com and click on "CHART," before hitting the road. Whether taking a short jaunt across town to Grandma's house or a journey along I-95, I-70, I-68 or I-83 for turkey and cranberry sauce, the CHART web site offers a treasure trove of travel information. Real-time traffic cameras, weather information and photo stills from SHA weather towers, maps and incident-related road closure reports are just a few of the tools motorists can access to effectively navigate the road system and avoid delays.

To further ease congestion, all non-emergency roadwork on SHA-maintained roadways will be suspended between Wednesday, Nov. 26 and Sunday, Nov. 30. Emergency response units will patrol metropolitan interstates in search of stranded motorists to help them on their way and prevent delay for other motorists.

Out of town to Grandma's? Staying local and hosting dinner yourself? The options may be endless, but there's one choice that must be made - Choose Safety for Life. More than 90 percent of all fatal traffic crashes are preventable, so be sure to keep the holidays a time for celebration with these helpful tips:

• Buckle up! It's the law in Maryland and your number one defense in a crash.

• The National Click it of Ticket campaign will be underway; police will be enforcing seat belt laws.

• Place children in the proper child safety seat.

• Travel during off peak hours and allow extra time for unexpected delays.

• Check your vehicle's lights, tires, battery and windshield wipers for proper operation.

• Slow down and pay attention, avoiding distractions such as cell-phone use, changing CDs and eating. Observe all posted speed limits.

• Never drink and drive! Designate a sober driver.

• Drivers with cellular phones can dial #77 or 911 to report suspected aggressive or drunk drivers.

• In the unfortunate case you are involved in a minor crash, please safely move your vehicle from the travel lanes - it's Maryland's law.

In inclement weather -

• Wet road surfaces are not ideal and require particularly attentive driving.

• Slow down, increase your distance between the vehicle in front of you, avoid distractions and drive defensively.

• See and be seen. Remember that Maryland State Law requires the use of headlights while windshield wipers are in use.