As Christmas quickly approaches, residents will no doubt see more and more traffic on the roads.
Whether that's people heading out to do last minute shopping or hitting the highway to head out of town, that will inevitably result in increased traffic, which also comes the need to up your defensive driving skills.
No matter how careful you think you are behind the wheel, the person in the car next to you might not be, which is why law enforcement officials said its so important to stay vigilant.
Rob Mallory with the Department of Public Safety said extra troopers will be out on the roads patrolling for speeders and drunk drivers.
"So we advise people to watch that speed, wear their seatbelts and make sure you are getting plenty of rest before you leave for your destination over the Thanksgiving break we saw several crashes where people were too tried to be driving," he said.
He advises residents to give themselves plenty of time to get to their destinations and to make sure their vehicles are properly maintained.
19-year-old Nina Esparza has already seen her fair share of speeders, road rage and distracted drivers. She said that her vehicle has already been struck four times by reckless drivers.
"It's not only on top of holidays, them trying to get home or Christmas shopping or work, even, it's more they're distracted on their phones, they are doing other things besides driving," she said. "Everyone has a family. I want you to get home safe, I want to get home safe, the last thing I want to do is get in an accident."
The countdown to the holiday causing traffic troubles especially at those known shopping areas from South Padre Island Drive to Everhart Road and Staples Street and even McArdle Road.
Mallory said that drivers should also be aware of what they're doing before they even decide to get behind the wheel.
"With the holiday season we all have a million things on our mind right now, but when we get behind the wheel our number one focus needs to be driving to our destination safely," he said.
He said that regardless of where drivers are going, if safety isn't prioritized, things can take a turn for the worst.
"No matter what time of year it is, when you go out to a fatality crash its very hard to do, because part of our job is to go tell their families they aren't coming home," he said.