Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office receives two major traffic enforcement grants

The Twiggs County Sheriff's Office has been awarded two major traffic grants, totaling over $60,000, by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to address the increasing number of traffic deaths in the state.

TWIGGS COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded two major traffic grants, totaling over $60,000, by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to address the increasing number of traffic deaths in the state.

According to Sheriff Darren Mitchum, the grants will be used to train and retain officers, purchase necessary equipment like radars and lasers and enforce speeding and seatbelt usage. Sheriff Mitchum says the traffic deaths are due to a combination of speed, seatbelt use and distracted driving, with drunk driving and DUI also being a factor.

The grants will provide the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office with additional resources to cut down on the increase of traffic deaths. Sheriff Mitchum says he sees a pattern when it comes to deadly traffic accidents and that the grants will help his office address those patterns.

“Obviously, we always have the drunk driving, the DUI, yes,” he said. “There’s always a factor in there, but just on a common everyday basis, it would, in my opinion, speed seatbelts, distracted driving.”