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MACON, MO. -- The Turkey Day holiday is one of the busiest times for travel on Heartland highways.

Thousands of people are hitting the road to visit family and friends for Thanksgiving.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol encourages you to play it safe by buckling up, obeying the speed limit and watching out for the other guy.

"We know that people in the State of Missouri are going to be traveling, visiting friends and relatives. We certainly want to encourage people to drive safely, pay attention to speed limits. If drinking is a part of their plans, we ask that they choose a sober designated driver," said Sergeant Brent Bernhardt.

The Thanksgiving holiday counting period runs Wednesday through Sunday night.

Bernhardt says 10 people were killed in Missouri traffic crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend last year.

During that same period, 16 people died in Iowa traffic crashes.

"Our hope is that we're able to report at the end of the holiday period that we had zero fatalities in the State of Missouri," said Bernhardt