Officials urge highway caution

Teresa Williams

July 02, 2009 09:40 pm

— THOMASVILLE — A long holiday weekend means more traffic on the roads and a higher probability of incidents, law enforcement officials say.
Estimates from the Department of Transportation Crash Reporting Unit and the Georgia State Patrol predict as many as 1,874 crashes resulting in 895 injuries and 22 traffic deaths on Georgia roadways this Independence Day weekend.
“We encourage everyone to make a special effort to be safe on the roads by being alert and ready to take evasive action to avoid an accident,” Lt. Eric Hampton, public information officer for the Thomasville Police Department, said. “When we keep our accidents to a minimum we keep our injuries and the likelihood of fatalities to a minimum.”
Director Bob Dallas of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, GOHS, said in the news release that all DOT road projects have been suspended from noon Thursday until 5 a.m. Monday to help relieve congestion. The holiday period began 6 p.m. Thursday and ends midnight Sunday.
Hampton said local law enforcement will be looking for seatbelt and driving under the influence violations, as well as other infractions throughout the weekend. He said there will be “zero tolerance.”
“It is very important that people buckle up because there is so much more traffic in town for the holiday, a time when families get together. We want to make sure that innocent people who are just trying to get together and have a nice family outing are not put in danger.”