Thanksgiving often serves as the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and brings with it an influx of cars on the road as drivers pack up to spend time with their families. But while a recent Allstate survey found that 45 percent of Americans plan on taking a road trip of more than two hours this year, many are unprepared for the dangers they may encounter.

The biggest disconnect the study revealed was that although most drivers have experienced at least four instances of a disabled vehicle, 84 percent of respondents said that they didn't think they would run into any snags this year due to mechanical problems or other issues.

Some mechanical accidents and other potential delay-causing problem are unavoidable but performing regular maintainance can drastically reduce your chances of encountering a completely preventable issue, and according to Allstate, the statistics back it up.

The company's study, which polled about 1,000 drivers over the age of 18, found that the 63 percent of respondents who are on top of routine maintenance experienced an average of 3.7 occurrences of a disabled vehicle, while those who didn't take care of their vehicles regularly encountered an average of 5.7 breakdowns. Conscientious drivers were also significantly less likely to have a dead battery, run out of gas or have their car not start.

If you're getting ready for a road trip this holiday season you may want to make sure your car has had all it's routine maintenance performed. New Jersey State Auto Auction provides drivers with a total car care center located in Jersey City that can perform everything from auto repair to regular check ups.