Photographs and Commentary from the Georgia FACES Press Conference.....

Photos and Commentary from the Georgia FACES Press Conference on February 13, 2006

On Monday, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) launched a new webpage dedicated to one of this agency’s longtime goals: To help the motoring public remember all Georgians whose lives were lost in fatality crashes on our highways and to remind everyone of the importance of driver safety to avoid the tragedy of future deadly crashes on our roads.

At a morning news conference on the West steps of the Georgia Capitol, GOHS Director Bob Dallas announced the roll out of the Georgia “F.A.C.E.S.” Project. FACES stands for “Fatalities Are Crashes Ending Smiles”. Last year 1,664 people died in motor vehicle crashes in Georgia.

Director Dallas unveiled the new GOHS webpage where friends and family members can now post photographs in remembrance of their loved ones killed in crashes anywhere in Georgia. “Our purpose behind Georgia FACES is to show that these crash victims are not just statistics. That’s why we’re asking friends and families to submit smiling photos of loved ones to honor their memories with this online tribute,” said Director Dallas.

The crash victim photos, along with the victim’s name and age, where they were from, and the date and location of the crash will be published as a public commemorative on the new Georgia FACES webpage.

“In a world constantly numbed by statistics, it’s just too easy for the public to lose sight of this deadly problem if we allow people to think of these crash victims as mere numbers in a report,” said Dallas. “At last, this GOHS webpage puts a face on the thousands of our friends, neighbors, and family members who for decades have been tragically dying in traffic crashes.”

To help news photographers visualize the impact of 1,664 crash victims killed on our roadways just last year, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety lined the sidewalks on the Washington Street side of the Georgia Capitol with more than sixteen hundred empty picture frames.

“With Valentines Day just a day away, those empty frames were placed there to represent the hundreds of loved ones left out of the family picture this holiday due to fatality crashes on our highways,” said GOHS Director Bob Dallas.

“We can’t begin to fathom the depth of tragedy attached to Georgia’s annual vehicle crash fatality report,” said Dallas. “But every one of those 1,664 individual fatality crash victims has their own grieving circle of family, friends, and co-workers whose lives have now been changed forever.”

Georgia FACES will be posted at the on-line memorial soon after they are received, depending on volume of response. Victim photos can be from any year, so long as the fatality crash occurred in Georgia. In order to be posted on the site, photos must show the crash victim only and be accompanied by a note granting permission for the photograph to be published on Georgia FACES. Additional requirements are posted on the GOHS website below.

“Safe driving is a year-round lifesaving habit,” said Director Dallas. “Special events like St. Patrick’s Day, Mardis Gras, Spring Break and Prom Season are just around the corner this Spring party season. But when you lose a loved-one in a traffic crash, it’s a tragic reminder that haunts you throughout every holiday.”

SLOW DOWN, BUCKLE UP, DRIVE SOBER, MOVE OVER!

Below are some of the photos taken at the FACES press event. Click on each thumbnail for a larger image.....