Driving attractive, but use caution this holiday

We've noticed several friends planning long trips over this week's holiday.

While the weather could be dicey for Thanksgiving Day itself, and again on the final return-home day Sunday, it might not be a bad holiday to travel.

That's especially true if you're driving, since gasoline is cheaper than it's been any time since 2008.

Normally higher than the rest of the state, McCook's gas prices were as low as $2.02 per gallon, 12 cents below the statewide average of $2.14 and far below last year's $2.90.

Fill up your 15-gallon tank this year and you're paying /411.40 less than you did at the same time last year.

McCook doesn't have the cheapest gas in the state, however; it's below $2 in places like Hastings, Alliance, South Sioux city, Blair, Columbus and many stations in the Omaha metro area, according to AAA Nebraska.

If Sunday turns out to have bad weather, it will be a good day to observe Drive Safer Sunday, organized by the non-profit Road Safe America.

The Sunday following Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest highway travel day of the year, recognized as Drive Safer Sunday by a resolution by the U.S. Senate.

The observance is sponsored by Road Safe America, a non-profit dedicated to reducing collisions between tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles. Steve Owings and his wife, Susan, founded Road Safe America in 2003 after their son, Cullum, was killed when his car -- stopped in an interstate traffic jam -- was crushed from behind by a speeding tractor trailer going eight miles per hour above the posted speed limit on cruise control. That crash occurred on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as Cullum returned to college after spending the week at home in Atlanta with his family and friends.

"The Sunday after Thanksgiving will always be a painful one for our family," Steve Owings said. "But we hope that by raising awareness of the dangers of holiday travel, other lives will be spared and other families will not have to deal with needless, tragic loss."

U.S. Department of Transportation statistics show that, among the 40,000 average highway deaths each year during the past decade, over 500 are truckers and about 4,000 are auto drivers and passengers involved in collisions with big trucks.

RSA reminds everyone traveling during Thanksgiving - and the Christmas and New Year's holidays to come - to:

* Get plenty of rest before setting out and take frequent breaks to remain alert.

* Consider driving during off-peak travel hours to minimize congestion.

* Avoid unnecessary distractions behind the wheel - including loud sound systems and the use of any hand-held devices. Remember that in many states, a hand-held phone - and particularly texting behind the wheel - has become illegal.

* Give large trucks plenty of room since they can't see as well, maneuver as quickly, or stop in the same distance as passenger vehicles can.

Learn more at: http://www.roadsafeamerica.org/.