The good news is that Alabama Department of Transportation recently announced that there will be no temporary land closures while you’re driving on interstate highways for the Labor Day weekend.

The bad news is that you’re driving anywhere on Labor Day weekend.

Despite still-high gas prices, AAA and ALDOT expect that weekend traffic volumes could return to pre-pandemic levels as travelers take to the road for the holiday. Recent history — that is, Memorial Day and July 4 — bear this out.

Peak travel time, according to AAA, will be Friday afternoon, at just about the same time commuters begin to mingle with travelers. Monday afternoon, not unexpectedly, will also be busy as day- and weekend-trippers return from parts afar. If you have any flexibility in your schedule, AAA rightly advises that you avoid such travel times.

Labor Day annually rates as one of the most deadly for traffic accidents and the causes are just as predictable: high volumes of traffic, inattention, impairment, simple failure to observe the rules of the road and emergencies that arise from a mixture of these things and others.

Best choices for weekend travel might include staying close to home — anyone for sweet potatoes as the 26th annual Sweet Tater Festival returns to Smith Lake Park Sunday and Monday? — for that one last summer hurrah.

But because ALDOT knows that the grass is greener on the other side and drivers must traverse highways to get to it, they offer few holiday driving tips to help combat crashes and fatalities:

1. Designate a sober driver. That ALDOT’s release would mention that your designated driver should be sober speaks volumes about the weekend ahead, and it’s a fact from 2020 Alabama crash data that crashes involving alcohol and drug impairment are five times more likely to involve a fatality.

2. Buckle up, every time. Your chances of surviving a crash get 50 percent better when you’re wearing a seatbelt.

3. Limit distractions. Drivers who take their attention from the road to text or even change a radio station are 23 more times more likely to be involved in an accident than those who remain alert. Texting, tweeting or otherwise engaging with a mobile device while operating a vehicle are precursors to crashes.

Planning your holiday travel route can also help you avoid potentially dangerous situations. Traffic and road condition updates can be found at www.algotraffic.com, or on the ALGO Traffic app — which, of course, you should never use while driving. After all, that’s why they call it planning.

Similarly, Drive Safe Alabama, at drivesafealabama.org, isn’t just a clever brand or marketing campaign from ALDOT. It’s a way to change the culture of Alabama drivers by providing safe driving information with the aim of reducing crash-related injuries and fatalities on Alabama’s roadways. Check it out.

That’s a change we could all live with.