This holiday weekend local law enforcement agencies not only are urging citizens to avoid alcohol before turning the engine on, but to let up on the gas through a statewide DUI crackdown and 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. campaign.
In an effort to prevent deaths this Labor Day weekend, law enforcement agencies across the state are operating under zero tolerance, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Public Affairs Director Jim Shuler said.
“Every Labor Day, Georgia mobilizes thousands of traffic enforcement officers to conduct high visibility sobriety road checks and DUI patrols to save lives on roads where you live and drive as part of a national impaired driving crackdown campaign called ‘Over the Limit, Under Arrest,’” Shuler said.
Cherokee County law enforcement also will join the concentrated effort to stop hazardous and drunk drivers.
Holly Springs’ Public Information Officer Tanya Smith said the department plans on an aggressive enforcement, including safety and sobriety checks this holiday weekend. The department also will have extra patrols on the streets so Holly Springs can do its part to keep the streets as safe as they can, she said.
“(I) strongly encourage those who are celebrating the holiday weekend to take extra steps to ensure the safety of everyone in the community by having a designated driver or take a taxi to their destination,” Holly Springs Police Chief Ken Ball said.
Woodstock Police Chief David Bores agreed.
“The Woodstock Police Department is committed to keeping the streets of Woodstock safe from impaired drivers year round,” he said. “We realize the potential increase for impaired drivers during holidays and plan accordingly. I want to remind all citizens that driving under the influence should never be an option. There are safer alternatives than driving impaired.”
Bores said, on Labor Day weekend, there will be a roadblock set up within the city limits.
Canton Police Department also plans to set up road checks, Police Chief Jeff Lance said.
“Canton police will have an increased number of traffic units on the road, sobriety check points throughout the city and aggressive DUI enforcement to keep the citizens and visitors safe this Labor Day holiday weekend,” he said.
The sheriff’s office will be conducting safety checkpoints throughout the county as well, Public Information Officer Lt. Jay Baker said.
According to Baker, during the holiday weekend, deputies will be looking for impaired drivers, as well as seat belt and license violations.
“We want citizens to enjoy a safe Labor Day weekend,” Sheriff Roger Garrison said. “Our H.E.A.T. (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) and Traffic Enforcement Unit will be out in force to remove impaired drivers from the roadways of Cherokee County.”
Operation Zero Tolerance will run through Sept. 6.
As driving under the influence of any substance will be highly monitored during the Labor Day weekend, law enforcement also will target those drivers who “live in the fast lane,” officials said.
According to Shuler, while many citizens have been avoiding the extreme summer temperatures, law enforcement have been utilizing them for their 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T., a campaign designed to ticket the dangerous, aggressive and high-speed drivers every summer.
Since May 17, Georgia law enforcement, including Woodstock, Ball Ground, Holly Springs and Canton police departments, as well as the sheriff’s office, have been cracking down on high-speed, impaired and unbuckled motorists, all of whom make the local highways dangerous for the safe drivers.
According to Shuler, during the 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. officers will be enforcing the state’s new Super Speed Law, which went into effect in January.
The law, Shuler said, tacks an additional $200 fee for drivers convicted of speeding more than 75 mph on any two-lane roads or speeding more than 85 mph on anywhere in the state.
Canton police Public Information Officer Det. Candy Worthy said the department is on board with the Super Speeder Law.
“In 2009, the Labor Day holiday weekend led to 59 speeding tickets,” Worthy said, noting that in 2008, there were 21 speeding tickets.
The sheriff’s office also has put their foot down on aggressive drivers.
This summer the sheriff’s office H.E.A.T. Unit has worked 47 wrecks, 985 traffic stops, written 329 citations, issued 968 warning and made 38 DUI arrests during the 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. campaign, said Cpl. Michael Wells, noting that these figures do not include the month of August.
Whether in the county, Woodstock, Holly Springs, Ball Ground, Waleska or Canton, all law enforcement have the same motto: “Over the Limit, Under Arrest.”
