The Georgia DUI Task Force received a $2.37M grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to ensure that their Nighthawks State Troops patrol for another year with the objective of reducing car crashes and other accidents caused by drunk driving and other related offenses.
The Smyrna-Vinings Patch reports that the grant will further into 2016 the Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic Program (HEAT), which is designed to reduce injuries and fatalities on the road caused by speeding or driving impaired under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both. It will also encourage the increase of seat belt use and educate citizens how they can lessen their own risks of drunk-driving incidents. The grant was issued on October 1, 2015 and will end a year later on September 30, 2016.
Harris Blackwood, Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, welcomes the fund, pointing out that "alcohol-related deaths" make up 25 percent of all traffic-related deaths in the entire state of Georgia.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle elaborates that the fund will focus on the George State Police Nighthawks DUI Task Force which was formed in 2004. Three teams of troopers with specialized training in DUI enforcement make up the DUI Task Force. They patrol looking for drunk drivers during peak hours in various counties like Athens-Clarke, Atlanta, Cobb, Clayton, Columbus, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Macon, among others.
All On Georgia published a statement released by Georgia's Public Safety Commissioner Mark McDonough who reiterated that patrols almost always find "impaired drivers." He confirms the agency's commitment of promoting safety on the streets by removing these drivers from them.
The $2.37 million grant will also funnel support to increase training for the police and the development and promotion of the Administrative License Program (ALS). The ALS provides state troopers legal assistance and legal representation, if necessary, should they be called to testify in court against persons charged with drunk driving or DUI.
