Georgia State Troopers C.A.R.E. This Holiday Weekend

The Georgia State Patrol is reminding drivers to buckle-up this holiday weekend and to plan travel activities with safety in mind. The 78-hour July Fourth holiday travel period begins Friday at 6 p.m. and ends at midnight Monday, July 4. Colonel Bill Hitchens, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said Georgia State Troopers will be watching for impaired drivers, speeders, and people not using safety belts during holiday patrols.

Last year, the Georgia Department of Transportation's Crash Reporting Unit counted 1,829 traffic crashes, 834 injuries and 11 traffic deaths during the July Fourth holiday travel period. The Georgia State Patrol investigated 300 of the traffic crashes that covered a Thursday evening through Sunday night time period. Troopers reported nine traffic deaths and 209 injuries in the crashes they investigated. Two of the fatal crashes were alcohol related and three of the fatal crash victims in passenger cars or pickup trucks were not wearing a safety belt.

This holiday weekend, the DOT hopes to keep the number of fatalities and injuries down by designating it an Operation C.A.R.E. weekend. Operation C.A.R.E., or Combined Accident Reduction Effort, encourages safe driving through high visibility enforcement of traffic laws and public education efforts. The program among state highway patrols and state police agencies is now in its 34th year and is sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Law Enforcement personnel will be conducting traffic safety checks and exercising zero tolerance, as well as concentrated patrols across the state highways, throughout the weekend.

Effective today, July 1, the change in Georgia's law regarding child booster seats will be enforced (see story). The change requires children under the age of 8 to be secured in an approved car seat or booster seat.

Click here for more information on the booster seat law.