The Florida Highway Patrol is joining with other law enforcement agencies from Florida and Southern Georgia to work together this Labor Day weekend to save lives on our roads.



The 13th annual Hands Across The Border event will be held on September 2. The event focuses attention on safety belts, child safety seat use, speeding, and impaired driving. Law enforcement agencies from both states will conduct public awareness activities and special enforcement operations as part of the campaign to save lives.



Labor Day weekend is among the deadliest for drivers- with 22 people killed on Florida roads last year. “Two fatalities occurred in Troop B during the 72- hour, 2003 Labor Day holiday,” said Major Richard Carpenter, Troop B Commander.



“Our goal for Labor Day is simple: we want to save lives,” said Major Carpenter. “Law enforcement agencies from Florida, Georgia and Alabama are joining forces to encourage all drivers to buckle up and drive sober during this Labor Day weekend.”



“The FHP Marion County District will be hosting a Comprehensive Roadside Sobriety Checkpoint in conjunction with Marion County’s “S.T.E.E.R.” safety initiative on Friday, September 3 in an attempt to detect and apprehend impaired drivers during the Labor Day holiday,” said FHP Captain Jeffrey Succi, Marion County District Commander.



Hands Across The Border was created when safety advocates from across the southeast me to draw attention to safety belt and child safety seat usage. In 1992, these groups came together and created the first Hands Across The Border event in Jacksonville, and Valdosta areas. In 1993, the state of Alabama joined the efforts. More than 17 states nationwide now participate in the annual Hands Across The Border events, and the campaign has been expanded to include impaired driving enforcement activities.



Florida’s safety belt laws are secondary enforcement, which means the driver must be pulled over for another violation before being issued at safety belt citation. Eighteen states plus Puerto Rico now have primary enforcement laws, including Alabama and Georgia.