Indiana law enforcement agencies are increasing patrols on local roads and state highways this Thanksgiving in an effort to prevent fatalities as drivers head out for holiday travel.

About 200 extra Indiana State Police troopers will patrol state highways starting Wednesday, said Sgt. Wayne Flick, a State Police spokesman.

Their officers are paid overtime, in part with funding from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, which doles out $250,000 in federal grant money to 250 agencies statewide, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Local agencies such as IMPD will step up patrolling for seat-belt usage, impaired driving and speeding this holiday weekend.

"During this time of year, when holiday travel escalates, (increased patrolling) helps deter dangerous driving behaviors," said Mica Perry, a spokeswoman for the institute.

About 41 million Americans plan to travel 50 or more miles from home this Thanksgiving, according to AAA Hoosier Motor Club. About 81 percent, or 33.2 million people, will travel by car, down 1.2 percent from 2007.

Targeting seat-belt enforcement and impaired drivers, in particular, can help reduce the number of holiday fatalities, said Ryan Klitzsch, traffic safety division director for the justice institute. Seat-belt usage increases a person's chances of surviving a crash by 60 percent, Klitzsch said.

Agencies will use sobriety checkpoints, heavy seat-belt patrols and radar to monitor speed. State Police also will employ officers trained in commercial vehicle enforcement to focus on violations by truck drivers and to monitor driver fatigue, Flick said. By law, truck drivers are required take breaks during their trips to avoid fatigue and sloppy driving, but Flick said that can be more of a challenge during Thanksgiving.

"During the holiday weekend, a lot of the (truck) drivers are trying to push it to get home," Flick said. "They're driving a few more hours than they should be."

Last year, there were eight fatal crashes -- two of them alcohol-related -- resulting in 10 deaths statewide during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday period, according to research by the Indiana University Center for Criminal Justice.

Research by the center shows that more people than ever are wearing seat belts in the state and that fatal traffic collisions are down. The compliance rate for seat-belt usage was about 89 percent in 2007, when there were 804 fatal crashes. There were 817 fatal crashes in 2006.