Summer H.E.A.T. Crackdown on DUI, Speed Begins

If you've noticed more traffic stops than usual this week, you're probably not imagining things. Summer 2012 marks the ninth consecutive season that police are rolling out waves of enforcement patrols across 159 Georgia counties to crack down on dangerous, aggressive and high-speed drivers.

The 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) campaign is a multi-jurisdictional highway safety enforcement strategy designed to reduce fatal crash counts during Georgia’s deadly holiday driving period from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The will be participating in the launch of the 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. campaign. They released a statement Tuesday, which said they will be on the lookout for unsafe motorists including: drunk drivers, aggressive speeders, distracted drivers who continue to text while behind the wheel.

"If you are speeding, you will be cited. If you fail to buckle your safety belt, or your child’s restraints, you will be cited. People charged with drunk driving will be cited and will go to jail," stated the release.

The H.E.A.T. campaign, which has been in Georgia since 2004, began on Monday, May 21, coinciding with the annual May kickoff of the Click It or Ticket safety belt initiative. This combination means police officers, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers will be working together to get some of Georgia’s most dangerous offenders off the road.

This year’s 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. and Click It or Ticket campaigns run through September 3.  

For more information on either lifesaving campaign, visit the Georgia Highway Safety website.