Travel is expected to be up by 10 percent across the country this holiday weekend compared to last year, and local and state law enforcement want to be at the end of every bend in the road and at the bottom of every hill.
Georgia and Tennessee troopers will conclude their 100 Days of Summer Heat campaign this weekend, so state troopers and local officers already are out on the roads in increased numbers.
Come this Labor Day weekend, when summer travel peaks for the final time, there will be more cruisers on the highways and more sobriety checkpoints, police say.
The AAA travel service expects 34.4 million travelers this year, compared to 31.3 million in 2009.
Authorities say nine people died on Tennessee roads over the 2009 Labor Day, compared to 12 in 2008. In Georgia, the 2009 Labor Day holiday saw 15 traffic deaths and 867 injuries, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Tennessee troopers will participate in seven sobriety checkpoints in the Chattanooga area from Friday through Monday, though authorities won’t say where those will be held.
“Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes,” Tennessee Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell said. “The THP will be vigilant in protecting our roadways from the careless decisions of those who choose to put Tennesseans in harm’s way.”
The same message is coming from Georgia law enforcement.
“Statistics show that one out of four traffic crash fatalities are caused by an impaired driver,” said Dalton police Chief Jason Parker. “They also show that drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or higher are 11 times more likely to die in a crash than if involved in that same crash while they were sober.”
Chattanooga, Cleveland, Red Bank and East Ridge police officials say they will have extra officers on the road this weekend, but there are no plans for special checkpoints.
But Georgia and Tennessee officers will conduct several “hands across the border” joint checkpoints over the holiday weekend, THP spokesman Mike Browning said.
On top of checking for sobriety, there will be more officers looking for speeders and reckless drivers. Chief Parker said motorists can avoid run-ins with police if they simply “buckle up, slow down and drive sober.”