Georgia authorities partner with neighboring states to catch drunk drivers

Law enforcement officers from Georgia and Tennessee conduct a Hands Across the Border sobriety checkpoint on Rossville Blvd. at the Tennessee-Georgia state line in this file photo.
Law enforcement officers from Georgia and Tennessee conduct a Hands Across the Border sobriety checkpoint on Rossville Blvd. at the Tennessee-Georgia state line in this file photo.

For the 24th year in a row, authorities will be conducting widespread road checks to try to catch drunken drivers.

The campaign, called Hands Across the Border, is coordinated by Georgia authorities. Officers from Georgia will meet up with those from the five surrounding states - Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida - at each state line and together conduct road checks this Monday through Friday, according to a release from the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

This effort is to primarily catch drunken drivers, but in the past officers also have caught drug offenders, fugitives, drivers with outstanding warrants, unlicensed drivers, uninsured drivers and drivers with improperly restrained child passengers, the release said.

"We have been doing this for a long time," Roger Hayes, Governors Office of Highway Safety law enforcement services director, said in the release. "Unfortunately, the reason we keep doing this campaign is because every year, we catch impaired, unbelted, uninsured and distracted drivers. While we would prefer if these motorists never hit the road, we are committed to taking them off it."

The release said the blood alcohol limit in all 50 states is 0.08, so drivers have no excuse to not know the law.

The reason for carrying out this campaign this time of year is it's leading up to a popular weekend of travel, the Labor Day holiday. The release said people from Georgia come and go to several different areas of the country.

"There are a lot of summer destinations between here and our neighboring states," GOHS Director Harris Blackwood said in the release. "From coastal beaches and lakeside destinations to mountain retreats and even amusement parks, we've got a lot to offer.

"But one thing we don't offer is leniency when it comes to impaired drivers. Whether it's drugs or alcohol, law enforcement on both sides of the state lines will find you and you will be arrested."

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