Thousands of Alberta families will hit the road this weekend with visions of grandma's turkey dinner, complete with pumpkin pie, dancing in their heads.  

The RCMP want to remind you to have thoughts of something else in your head....driving safely to and from your destination.

Cst. Mike Hibbs with Alberta RCMP Traffic Services says Thanksgiving, like every other long weekend, means increased traffic on Alberta highways.

"You're going to be seeing increased traffic by Friday afternoon so we're encouraging people to use common sense when they're driving." 

This weekend the RCMP, Alberta Traffic Sheriffs as well as some Peace Officers will be partnering together for Operation Impact.  Hibbs explained what that's all about. 

"Operation Impact is a Canada wide initiative.  We do heavy traffic enforcement on the Thanksgiving weekend.  We set up various Check Stops around the province and look for the usuals, seat belts, phones, speeds are a big thing for us and we want people to stay away from alcohol this holiday weekend.  Those are some of the most important things we look for but we're also looking for other things.  People who are driving without insurance, things like that.  It's a weekend that's busy for us.  We want to get out there and let people know that we're present and keeping people safe."

Thanksgiving poses some different risks from long weekends in the summer.  For one thing, Hibbs says, it's darker earlier and later now.  

"We get the darkness on both ends.  Earlier in the morning it doesn't start to get light and earlier in the evening it's also darker.  Drivers need to watch out for crosswalks being darker in the evenings and early in the morning.  You need to watch out for pedestrians, especially school kids at this time of year." 

Another concern is animals that usually move about right at dawn or dusk. 

"When you go out on the highways, especially in rural Alberta where there's a lot of wooded areas, there's a lot of wildlife, deer, moose, elk and even the smaller animals like coyotes to watch out for.  Hitting one can certainly bring a bad end to a weekend."

Hibbs says while most farmers have completed their harvest operations others have not and still more are moving equipment home for winter.

"The thing there is being patient.  Farmers have a job to do and families to feed.  Heavy equipment is slower than average traffic but they certainly have the right to be there especially moving their equipment around and getting it ready for the winter.  We also came across this just last week, some people moving their cattle from one field to the next.  That's certainly something to watch out for as well.  Those things may slow you down for a few minutes but you'll get to your destination eventually, if you reduce your speeds."

During the Thanksgiving weekend in 2016, there were 619 traffic collisions in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions whlch resulted in 73 people being injured and four being killed.  

RCMP are hoping to significantly reduce those numbers this year.