Those were the immortal words of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus that began every episode of the NBC series "Hill Street Blues" prior to sending his troops out on their daily routine in keeping their community safe and sound. The message applies to you as well when heading out to your impending destination for the Thanksgiving holiday.

More people will be hitting the road as opposed to last year as the COVID-19 pandemic STILL remains rampant to this day hence the rise of gas prices nationwide, but you could do your part in keeping safe while behind the wheel as State and local police throughout our tri-state region are keeping watch for those who speed or are driving recklessly. And don't even think of driving if you had a little too much in the realm of alcohol as those offenders will be subject to arrest and prosecution.

Additional uniformed patrol will make their presence as of midnight to start off Thanksgiving Day and this ongoing police presence continues until 11:59 pm Sunday evening as the final getaway day will bring an influx of traffic.

If you are flying from Bradley International Airport in neighboring Connecticut, state troopers will be available to lend a hand as passengers should arrive at least 2 hours earlier prior to their departure plus curb side pick-up and drop-offs will be implemented at designated terminals to keep things moving in a timely manner.

According to a recent article from The Connecticut Insider, last years enforcement was lighter in nature compared to 2019 as the pandemic kept more people closer to home and lock downs were rule of thumb in 2020. state troopers responded to 7,181 calls for auto service and they arrested 29 people for driving under the influence. There were 7 fatal crashes as simple common sense should be implemented for those who will be behind the wheel for the next few days.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and exercise some caution prior to your departure. You'll get to where you're going as a little extra time and patience should take precedence. Pay heed to the late great Michael Conrad's words of "Be Careful Out There"

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

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