THUNDER TASKFORCE STORMS INTO BULLOCH COUNTY
90-DAY CRACKDOWN ON STATESBORO’S DEADLIEST DRIVERS
IN THE SAVANNAH-TO-MACON HIGH-CRASH CORRIDOR
This week, the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) announced the ninety-day roll-out of the high-visibility ROLLING THUNDER TASK FORCE to target high-risk drivers in Bulloch County. The GOHS THUNDER TASK FORCE is a specialized traffic enforcement response team designed to help Georgia communities combat abnormally high occurrences of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities. The TASK FORCE mission is to help reduce those regional highway deaths and serious injuries by altering the illegal driving behaviors of careless motorists through an increased and high visibility law enforcement presence in Georgia’s High Crash Corridors.
Statistically, stretches of heavily traveled state highways and rural roads in Bulloch County currently meet the THUNDER TASKFORCE definition for ‘High Crash Corridors’, prompting law enforcement authorities in the region to ask the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to plan for TASKFORCE enforcement support there this quarter. Apparently due in part to the high volume of Savannah-to-Macon commuter traffic, Bulloch County has a fatality crash rate higher than that of other similarly sized counties and a higher than average proportion of speed-related crashes.
“The THUNDER Challenge here is this tragic rate of deadly traffic crashes,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. “THUNDER is designed to increase the impaired driver apprehension rate and reduce speeding and impaired driving crashes. This higher traffic enforcement profile will help make the public more aware of the costly consequences of drinking and driving in southeast Georgia,” said GOHS Director Dallas.
Bulloch County had already recorded 14 crash fatalities during the first nine months of 2008. “And only three of those crash victims were found wearing safetybelts,” said Georgia State Patrol Senior Trooper Jim Brown. Trooper Brown is Field Coordinator for the GOHS THUNDER initiative and personally reviews fatality crash reports before each crackdown. “If everyone involved in these deadly crashes had been buckled-up, two thirds of them would still be alive today,” said Trooper Brown. “In Bulloch County crashes, seat belts are a factor and speed is a factor. And since we already know DUI is a deadly factor here too, THUNDER is designed to crackdown on all three.”
The THUNDER TASK FORCE goal will be to show a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and injuries over the coming three-month period. During previous 90-day mobilizations OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER successfully reduced traffic fatalities in the Savannah-Chatham Metro Area by 68-percent and reduced traffic related fatality crashes by 87% during the Bartow/Paulding County mobilization. While fatality crash statistics are still being calculated from the latest Barrow/Oconee County THUNDER mission, the enforcement operation there apprehended 31 fugitives, arrested 137 motorists for driving without licenses, and put 265 drunk drivers behind bars before they could take innocent lives on Georgia highways.
The THUNDER enforcement strategy applies a combined speed and DUI crackdown, running roadchecks and concentrated patrols on state routes, rural roads, and interstate highways over the three month period. TASK FORCE officers conduct day-and-night safety belt and sobriety roadchecks on local roadways on an ever-changing schedule while collecting enforcement data to document their life-saving progress.
“Our operations model calls for officer vigilance to spot those high-risk and unsafe drivers that make this Savannah-to-Macon commuter route a high-crash corridor,” said GOHS Director Dallas. “So, for the next ninety days the TASKFORCE will do their best to change the aggressive driving behaviors they encounter among high-risk motorists in the THUNDER Enforcement Area.”
Each time it’s launched, the GOHS THUNDER TASKFORCE works with members of community Traffic Enforcement Units from the local requesting agency. During this Bulloch County call-out, the THUNDER TASKFORCE will deploy a combined operation of Bulloch County Sheriff’s deputies and Statesboro and GSU Police, supported by a force- multiplier of Georgia State Troopers from Troop F and the Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division, deployed in joint operations with a specially-qualified contingent of GOHS H.E.A.T. units from nearby jurisdictions.
H.E.A.T. stands for Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic. For 2008 & 2009 GOHS provided $3.3-million in grant funding for nearly 100 H.E.A.T. traffic enforcement officers in 27 specialized traffic enforcement units patrolling strategic high-risk locations across the state. The TASKFORCE H.E.A.T. officers are certified as field sobriety or drug recognition experts, with required training in radar, emergency vehicle operation, pursuit intervention, advanced traffic law, and DUI Breathalyzer equipment operation.
This TASKFORCE will also be joined by local law enforcement agencies from the regional GOHS Southeastern Traffic Enforcement Network (SETEN). The SETEN Traffic Enforcement Network includes participating law enforcement agencies from neighboring Effingham, Chatham, Bryan, Candler, Screven and Evans counties. “We’re using all local and regional law enforcement partners for this mobilization so we can reduce long distance travel costs and plan ahead for any unpredictable spikes in fuel costs,” said GSP Sr. Trooper Brown. “So logistically, we can safeguard our budget against an uncertain economy at the same time we safeguard the public on our highways.”
In between weekly waves of THUNDER operations, Bulloch County Sheriff’s patrols will continue to target high injury and fatality crash locations with an ongoing schedule of concentrated patrols and roadchecks. Traffic Enforcement Network partners will provide portable Blood Alcohol Testing “BAT”-Trailers, field-equipped with reporting stations, Intoxilyzers, night operations generators with street lighting-kits, and holding cells to conduct THUNDER sobriety roadchecks during the months of January, February, March and April 2009.
On Wednesday, January 21st the GOHS THUNDER TASKFORCE rolled into Bulloch County on I-16. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety and Bulloch County law enforcement are stepping-up enforcement to drive-down highway deaths. As of January ‘09 the travel forecast on I-16 in Statesboro calls for THUNDER!
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS FROM THE JANUARY 21ST THUNDER PRESS CONFERENCE CAN BE FOUND AT THE WE HUNT AT NIGHT WEBSITE.....
NEWS COVERAGE FROM REGARDING OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER IN BULLOCH COUNTY
PHOTOS FROM THE JANUARY 21, 2009 THUNDER KICK OFF...
