OPERATION ZERO TOLERANCE MOBILIZATION: ENFORCEMENT 2005

“Operation Zero Tolerance- “You Drink & Drive. You Lose.” (OZT) is Georgia's impaired driving enforcement and education campaign. Two week waves of enforcement are conducted twice yearly during the July 4th holiday period and in December during the Christmas and New Year's holiday periods when the incidents of impaired driving and travel on Georgia's roadways are the highest. The Georgia OZT mobilizations are conducted in conjunction with nationwide campaigns during the same time period. The national “You Drink & Drive. You Lose.” Campaign is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and involves law enforcement participation across the country. In addition to the enforcement, the key to the success of the campaign is the massive public education and awareness initiatives through paid and earned media. NHTSA supports the effort with national paid media television and radio ads as well as a press conference in Washington DC with national celebrities to “kick off” the enforcement period.

In Georgia, OZT is coordinated by the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). The GOHS mobilizes Georgia law enforcement officers for the special impaired driving enforcement emphasis. The campaign involves State and local law enforcement agencies across Georgia. High visibility sobriety checkpoints are coordinated by the GOHS regional traffic enforcement networks. The enforcement campaign is also “kicked off” in Georgia with a press event in the Metro-Atlanta area as well as press events at numerous locations across the state. The message is simple. You drive impaired in Georgia, you WILL go to jail. It is Zero Tolerance.

Impaired drivers in Georgia cause an average of 530 deaths per year; that is more that 1/3 of the total fatalities resulting from traffic crashes. Operation Zero Tolerance is making a difference. For the first time, Georgia is seeing a decline in impaired driving fatalities. With the continued emphasis on getting impaired drivers off our roadways through Operation Zero Tolerance, we hope to see this trend of declining impaired driving deaths continue.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW NEWS AND PHOTOS FROM THE OZT LABOR DAY 2004 PRESS CONFERENCE

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE DECEMBER 19, 2003 OPERATION ZERO TOLERANCE PRESS CONFERENCE