H.E.A.T. grant comes through - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

H.E.A.T. grant comes through

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By Jim Wallace - bio | email

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Speeders and drunk drivers beware. Dougherty County H.E.A.T. officers will stay on the road.

The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety awarded the Dougherty County Police Department a $28,000 grant to help pay for one H.E.A.T. officer.

In the first four years of the Dougherty County H.E.A.T. program, they saw a 42% reduction in the number of crashes resulting in injuries and a 46% decrease in traffic fatalities in the unincorporated parts of the county.

The H.E.A.T. units will target seat belt violators, impaired drivers, and speeders. 

"Some people nickname the expressway being a drag strip out here,' said Dougherty County Police Lt. Thomas Jackson. "People believe they can get out here and just do what they want. We try to target it as an area, to show them, it is an expressway to get where you are going, but you've got to maintain the speed limit." 

In Georgia more than 20% of crash deaths involve speeding.

The H.E.A.T. grants fund 21 specialized traffic enforcement units in departments around the state including in Dougherty County and Valdosta.

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