“Drive sober or get pulled over” – this is the well-known and established message shared by Georgia law enforcement ahead of the 33rd annual “Hands Across the Border” drunk and drugged driving prevention and enforcement campaign that starts next Monday on August 26.
State troopers and local officers are partnering with peers in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee to conduct sobriety road checks on both sides of respective state lines.
The week-long campaign takes place prior to the extended Labor Day holiday weekend where many people across the southeast are expected to be on the road for one last summer trip, a college football game, or another fun and exciting destination.
Whether traveling across the state or right around the corner, law enforcement officers are currently issuing their verbal warning to not drive under the influence of any impairing substances because they will arrest all suspected drunk drivers that they find on the road. In Georgia, it is against the law to operate a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 or higher.
“Drunk and drugged driving has ruined too many lives, but can be eliminated if everyone makes the right choice to never drink and drive,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “When alcohol is on the schedule, plan ahead for a ride with a sober, designated driver, cab, or rideshare. Also, if you’re not drinking, let family and friends know they can call you anytime they need a ride.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 40 percent of the people killed in crashes during the Labor Day Holiday weekend in Georgia from 2018 to 2022 involved a driver whose BAC was .08 or higher. 60 percent of the drunk driving deaths during this Labor Day Holiday weekend period involved a driver whose BAC was twice the legal limit.
Last year, 26 people died in crashes in Georgia during the 78-hour Labor Day holiday weekend, which became the deadliest Labor Day weekend in the past 15 years.
“Law enforcement officers in Georgia and our neighboring states are united in our mission to eliminate drunk and drugged driving deaths by convincing everyone to avoid a DUI arrest by simply making the smart decision to pass the keys to a sober driver,” said Roger Hayes, Director of GOHS Law Enforcement Services. “The goal of ‘Hands Across the Border’ is to not arrest anyone for DUI because that means everyone is heeding our verbal warning. There will be no roadside warnings or calls to a friend for those who are stopped for driving over the legal BAC limit. The next destination for those driving drunk is the local jail.”
“Hands Across the Border” began prior to the 1991 Labor Day holiday as a friendly wager between state troopers in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida to see which agency could most reduce the number of drunk driving deaths in their respective states. Within ten years, “Hands Across the Border” quickly grew into a week-long education and enforcement mobilization involving all of the states neighboring Georgia.