Holiday campaign promotes safe driving

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – More than 160 people died last year in alcohol related car crashes in the state.  The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and local sheriffs want drivers to be careful especially during the holidays.

“This is what law enforcement is all about, everybody working together,” says Cullen Talton, Dean of Sheriffs in Houston County.

‘Drive sober, or get pulled over’ is one of the messages the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is trying to express to drivers. Law enforcement agencies from across the state will be on the look out for impaired drivers during the holiday travel period.

“The cost of a DUI in Georgia is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-thousand dollars. That’s your court cost, increase insurance cost and the attorney’s fees and all of the fees that you face.10-thousand dollars, not to mention the possible loss of your job, or the loss of your family,” adds Director Harris Blackwood at Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

In 2014, there were more than 8,000 alcohol involved traffic accidents in Georgia; which resulted in 165 deaths. Distracted driving is another concern. It is against the law to text while driving.

“Our officers are looking for people who are doing that. It is against the law in Georgia to even do that at a traffic light or stop sign. You have to be off the road. Your car has to be in park for you to text in a vehicle,” continues Blackwood.

Georgia Highway Safety officials say, putting air in your tire or getting a general car inspection before hitting the road, can possibly save lives.

“Check your break fluid, check your oil, make sure the tire pressure in your tires are good, along with the threads,” explains Col. Mark McDonough, Commissioner of the Department.

“We believe that this can be the safest week in the history of Georgia if the motoring public join us in this effort, expresses Blackwood.

Anyone who plans on drinking, AAA has a free program called Tow to Go.  Someone will tow you 10 miles from a bar. You don’t have to be AAA member to get the service.