Here’s something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

As a record number of drivers hit the roads, a new detection system is dramatically reducing wrong-way drivers in Connecticut.

The state Department of Transportation said Monday that the system has caused most wrong-way drivers to turn around, potentially saving “hundreds of lives.”

It’s been another deadly year on Connecticut roads. So far, 299 people have died – and the holiday travel season is just starting.

More than a dozen of those people were driving the wrong way.

But the tide is turning. CTDOT has installed 123 wrong-way detection systems at highway entrance ramps, and it appears to be working.

“Nearly 80% of the drivers across the state who saw the flashing red lights self-corrected before anyone got hurt,” said state Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “This technology is saving lives across the state, and here in Naugatuck, there have been more than 14 activations. And all those drivers have safely turned around.”

The detection systems include cameras, which activate flashing red lights on the wrong way signs to get the driver’s attention. The system also alerts the highway operations center and state police to try and stop these vehicles before a crash.

“The wrong-way detection programs are personal to me and so many of my colleagues, because we've been at these scenes,” said CTDOT Highway Operations Bureau Chief Paul Rizzo.

DOT released a video of the system in action nearly a dozen times this year:

But drivers don't always get the message. In Harwinton, a state trooper had to use his cruiser to stop a motorist on Nov. 15.

“Just a few days ago, one of our Connecticut state troopers faced the heart-stopping moment that no police officer or citizen ever wants to witness,” said Ronnell Higgins, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection commissioner. “That is a wrong-way driver headed straight for them.”

The state is still installing wrong-way detection systems. A dozen more of them are going up by the end of this year, with even more scheduled for 2025.

In the meantime, Connecticut State Police will have extra eyes on the highways starting this week – despite a longstanding trooper shortage.

“This is probably the most dangerous four days of the year on our Connecticut highways,” said Gov. Ned Lamont.