Labor Day weekend is finally here, but it has become deadlier than ever in Texas.
New figures from Triple-A Texas showed 39 people die in traffic-related incidents in Texas every Labor Day weekend.
Experts said higher gas prices will keep some of us home, but plenty of us will hit the road for the long holiday.
Those in the know said all travelers should use extreme caution. Triple-A said most of the holiday accidents in Texas start with impaired driving.
Numbers show more drivers are getting behind the wheel after drinking or using their cell phone or other mobile devices while they travel down the highway.
DPS is even warning drivers that driving intoxicated and "in-TEXT-i-cated" pose the same amount of danger to other drivers on the road.
Triple-A's Daniel Armbruster said taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds, doubles your chances for a crash.
"It takes just a few seconds to travel several football fields, even in a vehicle and in that time, you can do a lot of damage when you're looking down and away from the road," Armbruster said.
Triple-A said distracted driving causes the deaths of nine people every day and leaves about 1,000 injured.
Police in many areas said they'll also have extra officers on the roads this weekend looking for speeders and people who aren't properly buckled in.
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