18TH “Hands Across the Border” DUI Enforcement

This Labor Day, drunk drivers who try to run from police in Georgia, will be frustrated to find even more police waiting for them at every Georgia state line -- It’s Georgia’s annual Hands Across The Border intra-state highway safety crackdown. This Labor Day law enforcement tradition is now in its eighteenth year of making roads throughout the southeast safer from drunk drivers.

“This campaign serves as an annual reminder that Georgia and its neighbor states won’t tolerate any form of impaired driving as summer revelers hit the road for their last vacation of the season,” said Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) Director Bob Dallas. “Whether you’re coming to see Georgia’s beautiful coast, travelling to Tennessee’s majestic mountains, or visiting any great southeastern vacation destination, our message is clear: If you drive drunk, your itinerary will also include a memorable trip to a Georgia jail.”

For six days leading up to the Labor Day weekend, police, sheriff’s deputies and State Troopers throughout Georgia will rendezvous at state Welcome Centers for interviews with news media and photo-ops with handshakes and helicopters to promote highway safety education. But it’s not just about local TV, radio and newspaper coverage -- Georgia’s peace officers will join their traffic enforcement partners from five bordering states in a major mobilization effort coordinated by the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) to crack down on impaired drivers.

“Motorists heading toward any of the five state lines that Georgia shares should expect to see a high concentration of law enforcement on our interstates and roadways,” Director Dallas said. “Day and night and on both sides of the state line, our highway safety partners will be conducting sobriety checks to get the summer’s most dangerous drivers off the road. From Aug. 30th through Sept. 4th, the flashing red and blue lights of our Hands Across the Border teams will blanket the state as a colorful reminder that drunk driving will not be tolerated now or ever.”

Each year this campaign creates an outstanding opportunity for law enforcement officers from
neighboring Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina to renew their commitment to cooperate in their lifesaving mission. For eighteen years the highlight of these media events at Georgia Welcome Centers has been the traditional handshake between traffic enforcement officers from both sides of the state lines as they make their annual Hands Across The Border Pledge to work together all year long to reduce crashes, fatalities and serious injuries on our highways. After the speeches and media coverage, officers convoy in blue-light motorcades to the adjoining states’ visitor centers to repeat their lifesaving pledge.

This year, the Hands Across The Border campaign runs concurrent with the nationwide Labor Day impaired driving mobilization. In Georgia, it’s Operation Zero Tolerance.. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. GOHS is also coordinating the “100 Days Of Summer HEAT” initiative this Labor Day to raise awareness about the deadly consequences of speed, aggressive driving, and failure to use safety belts and child restraints. For more information about Operation Zero Tolerance, Hands Across The Border, and the “100 Days Of Summer HEAT”, visit the GOHS website at www.gahighwaysafety.org .

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