VALDOSTA — To those motorists traveling along Oak Street Wednesday night, it looked like a scene right out a movie, one involving a serious crime.
Law enforcement vehicles with their blue lights flashing lined the street from its intersection with Baytree Road to Brookwood Drive. Officers from a number of agencies in Atkinson, Lowndes, Berrien, Brooks, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Ben Hill and Tift counties stopped motorists in the area, as if they were looking for something.
And they were looking for something — or maybe someone.
An impaired driver.
Wednesday night marked the 18th annual Hands Across the Border, a well-known, six-day, six-state highway safety awareness campaign that allows all Georgia law enforcement officers to team up with their partners in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee in getting impaired drivers off the streets. The roadcheck was simply a chance for the officers to educate motorists on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, while simultaneously catching the ones already impaired.
Their message was clear: “We’ve stopped you to save your life.”
Also: “If you drink and drive in Georgia, you will be arrested.”
There were multiple Lowndes County checkpoint locations, which were worked by highway safety advocates and law enforcement from both Florida and Georgia, as well as the 12-county Southern Regional Traffic Enforcement Network, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
“Unfortunately, impaired driving exists in all states, so we all have to do our part to combat an entirely preventable crime,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “Hands Across the Border reminds all motorists that, whether they’re coming from or into Georgia for Labor Day weekend, traffic enforcement officers on both sides of the state lines will be enforcing safe driving laws. We may have different governors, different laws and even different accents, but one thing’s the same — we’re all committed to taking drunk drivers off our roads.”
The 78-hour Labor Day holiday travel period begins at 6 p.m. today and traffic on Georgia roads is expected to be heavy. The holiday period runs until midnight Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Traffic estimates from the Georgia State Patrol and the Crash Reporting Unit at the Georgia Department of Transportation are for 1,725 traffic crashes, 975 injuries, and 18 traffic deaths.
Last year, during the 78-hour holiday period, there were 1,660 traffic crashes reported across the state that resulted in 798 injuries and 19 fatalities.
The highest number of traffic deaths recorded over a Labor Day holiday period was in 1968 when 35 people were killed and the lowest occurred in 1939 and 1995 with seven.
Local News
Related Photos
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Law enforcement officers from departments in Georgia and Florida hold a sobriety check point at the intersection of North Oak Street and Baytree Road Wednesday night, all part of the annual Hands Across the Border.
Discussion
DUI crackdown
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