By The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — There are going to be a lot more vehicles on the road over the long Thanksgiving weekend, and the Illinois State Police wants you to know that more of those vehicles are going to have state troopers in them.

In a news release, the state police say the agency is beefing up patrols this weekend and that troopers will be on the lookout for drunk drivers, distracted drivers and drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts.

The increased patrols are part of an effort to help prevent the number of highway crashes and fatalities from spiking as they typically do every Thanksgiving weekend.

The release says there were 19 fatal crashes in Illinois in which 21 people were killed during last year’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend.