COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is warning motorists heading into the Thanksgiving holiday period to follow all traffic laws, including buckling seat belts and never driving impaired.

The patrol says nine people were killed in nine crashes on Ohio roads during the long holiday weekend last year. Five of those fatalities resulted from impaired drivers and six did not use seat belts.

Troopers say they will have an increased presence on Ohio’s roadways in an effort to remove impaired drivers.

AAA projects 50.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving. That’s a 3.3 percent increase over last year.

The 2017 Thanksgiving holiday reporting period begins Wednesday at 12 a.m. and ends Sunday at 11:59 p.m.