Albany traffic enforcement has zero tolerance for DUI

ALBANY — The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Georgia State Patrol and local law enforcement wishes everyone a safe holiday season and they’re willing to put people in jail to make it that way.

Operation Zero Tolerance will began Friday, officials say, and the name means what it says. According to a media release by the GOHS, drivers caught driving and posting an alcohol score over the limit will be under arrest. No warnings. No excuses.

“Impaired driving crashes and fatalities are completely avoidable,” said GOHS director Harris Blackwood. “It’s just that simple.”

For people who enjoy alcohol-enhanced parties, Blackwood recommends arranging for a designated driver before the festivities. If you don’t imbibe, offer to be the sober driver for your friends and family, he suggested.

“Or you could just have your parties at home,” said Sgt. Shawn Urquhart, Albany post commander of the GSP. “And enjoy the holidays in a safe, comfortable environment. But if a friend or family member is impaired and wants to drive somewhere, don’t let him. You might feel guilty if he’s killed.”

Urquhart said troopers will be out in force from now through New Year’s Eve, for enforcement of the law and just to slow things down — simply from an overwhelming presence.

“For most of the year, we might keep 50 percent of our force off duty,” Urquhart said, “During the holidays we’ll have a full 75 percent of our troopers looking for impaired drivers.”

According to the DOHS, Georgia’s zero tolerance campaign coincides with the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over initiative to remind all motorists that no matter where they go, impaired drivers run a risk of doing jail time. The legal blood alcohol limit is .08 percent in all 50 states, officials say.

Plus, getting caught drunk on the highway could cost a driver more than just a night in jail, Urquhart said. When legal fees, the cost of DUI school and increased insurance premiums are totaled, the price for a night of making merry could exceed $10,000.

According to the DOHS, last year in Georgia there were nearly 44,000 vehicle crashes from Nov. 20 through Dec. 31., resulting in 13,142 injuries and 160 fatalities. Of those deaths, 18 were due to impaired drivers, officials say.

To learn more about impaired driving safety and Operation Zero Tolerance, call the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety at (404) 656-6996 or visit www.gahighwaysafety.org.