New DUI Task Force Coming To Bibb County

MACON,Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- A new D-U-I Task Force will hit the streets in Bibb County. Georgia’s Office of Highway Safety first formed the Nighthawks Unit in 2004. Atlanta, Statesboro, and Savannah were the first cities to get the unit and now Bibb County.

The Nighthawks Unit will work with local law enforcement to seek out drunk drivers and get them off the roads. Authorities say 1/3 of fatalities in Bibb County occur due to people driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Macon police, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Patrol Office are all excited about the partnership.

” The State Patrol…they have always assisted us when I asked. They have assisted us in criminal operations. Now, they are assisting on helping us combat the problem of DUI in the city of Macon,” said Mike Burns, Macon Police Chief.

” The idea is to get drunk drivers off the road. People make that decision to have too much to drink and get behind the wheel of a car, and they endanger not only their lives but the lives of others,” said Harris Blackwood, Director of the Governor’s office of Highway safety.

Not only will the Nighthawks Unit focus on people driving under the influence of alcohol, but they will also focus their efforts on people speeding through Macon and traffic fatalities.