Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office announces launch of DUI crackdown, $60K+ in traffic enforcement grants
The Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, is urging the public to avoid driving under the influence this holiday season.
JEFFERSONVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, is urging the public to avoid driving under the influence this holiday season.
As part of the state’s annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, running from December 13, 2023, through January 1, 2024, the office says it’s intensifying efforts to prevent DUIs. State troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers will step up enforcement during this period and will take any driver they find to be over the legal Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level of .08 in Georgia to jail.
“No warnings. No call a friend to drive you home. No exceptions,” a sheriff’s office news release said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 4,500 people killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the United States in the month of December from 2017 to 2021, and 1,013 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the U.S. in December of 2021.
In Georgia, one out of four people killed in traffic crashes in December from 2017 to 2021 involved a driver whose BAC was higher than the state’s legal limit, and 70 percent of the fatal alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the state in December during this five-year period involved one driver with a BAC that was more than twice the legal limit.
Law enforcement has the following tips to help stop drunk driving and avoid a DUI, which could cost upwards of $10,000:
1. Chose a non-drinking person to be the designated driver before going out.
2. Do not let someone you know get behind the wheel if they have been drinking.
3. Let friends know they can contact you for a sober ride when needed.
4. Those hosting a party where alcohol is served should make sure guests leave with a sober driver.
5. Always wear your seat belt because it is the best defense against impaired drivers.
TCSO announces $61,418 in traffic enforcement grants
The Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office says it’s been awarded two grants totaling more than $60,000.
The first is a $21,843 grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). This funding acknowledges the office’s role as the coordinating agency of GOHS’s Middle Georgia Traffic Enforcement Network, which focuses on enforcing safety belt, speed and impaired driving laws.
“This is our way of supporting the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office through its continued leadership via Coordinator Captain Lee Smith and the Middle Georgia Traffic Enforcement Network,” GOHS Law Enforcement Services Director Roger Hayes said. “We want to make sure they can continue their region-wide efforts to protect Georgia motorists from drunk and otherwise dangerous drivers.”
The Middle Georgia Traffic Enforcement Network includes law enforcement agencies in Bibb, Bleckley, Crawford, Crisp, Dooly, Houston, Macon, Peach, Pulaski, Turner, Twiggs and Wilcox counties.
The grant will support ongoing initiatives to slow down speeders, promote seat belt usage and remove impaired drivers from roadways.
Sheriff Darren Mitchum says his office is committed to reducing traffic-related crashes, injuries and fatalities in the area.
The sheriff’s office also received a High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) grant of $39,575 from GOHS. The grant, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is part of an effort to address a rise in traffic deaths in the United State over the past two years.
“High Visibility Enforcement combines highly visible and proactive law enforcement to target a specific traffic safety issue designed to change unlawful and dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to most of the fatal and serious-injury traffic crashes on our road,” a news release said.
