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News and Photos from the Operation Zero Tolerance Labor Day Press Conference On Wednesday, August 25th, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety had some life-saving advice for motorists with travel plans for the Labor Day holidays. “Buckle-up, slow down and drive sober,” said GOHS Director Bob Dallas at a news conference to kick-off Georgia’s Operation Zero Tolerance (OZT) impaired driving campaign. The annual OZT news conference is designed to caution Georgians about driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and to warn the public about stepped-up enforcement efforts during the campaign. “Law enforcement officers across the state will be out in force conducting sobriety checkpoints and concentrated patrols,” said Director Dallas. The message behind the OZT Campaign is a sobering one: In 2003, twenty people died on Georgia highways during a 78-hour holiday period. Adding to Georgia’s tragic total, seventeen of last year’s twenty fatalities were killed in crashes that involved drivers impaired either by drugs or alcohol or a combination of both. According to Georgia State Patrol Colonel George Ellis, “Troopers will not hesitate to arrest an impaired driver and impound their vehicle,” during Operation Zero Tolerance. Today, the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety announced their joint fatality predictions for the Labor Day Holiday. The 2004 prediction is for 19 fatalities, 827 injuries and 2,459 crashes during the upcoming holiday period. “But
we want to prove them wrong,” said GOHS Director Bob Dallas. “Every
life matters and our goal is zero deaths,” said Dallas. “So
we support the Georgia State Patrol, local sheriff’s deputies
and police officers as they conduct this statewide Labor Day crackdown.”
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