GOHS Wins National TELLY Award mattmontgomery  at:  6/30/2009  

And the TELLY goes to..


Georgia Governor’s Challenge Awards Program


GOHS Police Recognition Project Video Takes National Honors

The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety has taken national honors at the 30 th Annual TELLY Awards. GOHS was selected by the judges to receive a 2009 TELLY Award for its “Governor’s Challenge Awards Program” video. Georgia’s award-winning Government Relations public safety campaign entry for television was co-developed by GOHS Public Affairs and ImageMaster Productions of Atlanta for broadcast and DVD distribution.


The TELLY’s are the premier standard of achievement for commercial productions. Each year the TELLY awards showcase the nation’s best video work and highest creative achievements. The Telly competition regularly receives more than 14-thousand entries from the most prestigious ad agencies and production companies.


“We’re proud to have our “Challenge Program” video judged against that level of excellence,” said GOHS Public Affairs Director Jim Shuler. “Once again, award-winning director Dan Johnson at ImageMaster Productions has managed to capture our life-saving message and help to acknowledge the dedication of Georgia’s public safety professionals.”


The annual “Georgia Governor’s Challenge Awards” presentations are a unique GOHS incentive program designed to document dedication and award outstanding achievements in life-saving highway safety enforcement and education.


The glitzy “Governor’s Challenge” event with its invitation-only banquet, tuxedoed emcees, and state-of-the-art police equipment awards, has come to be known in local law enforcement circles as Georgia’s “Emmy Awards for Cops”.


Once a year peace officers from across the state find themselves in the spotlight for a few proud moments, while their peers and judges from the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognize them for their outstanding performance behind the badge.


“’Governor’s Challenge’ recognizes the best of Georgia traffic enforcement professionals for their efforts to increase safety belt use, slow down speeders, and reduce impaired and aggressive driving,” said GOHS Special Operations Director Ricky Rich.


“The “Governor’s Challenge” event is the one day each year when the state can honor Georgia public safety for the job they do every day by giving them a red carpet reception for their dedication to saving lives on Georgia’s highways,” said Director Rich.


Georgia ’s Telly Award-winning video documents these annual presentations where local enforcement agencies are congratulated for innovative problem-solving programs in their communities and for the effectiveness of highway safety programs that make Georgia a safer place for everyone to live and drive.


“We congratulate all the winning agencies that have been honored at “Governor’s Challenge,” said Governor's Office of Highway Safety Director Bob Dallas. “Through their high-visibility enforcement efforts they’re saving the lives of fellow Georgians each time they send an impaired driver to jail and each time they write a ticket for illegal speeding, or to irresponsible parents who neglect to buckle-up little kids in car seats. We’re happy to dedicate this Telly Award-winning video in their honor to help them save more lives on our highways.”


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     GOHS Wins EMMY Award for Enduring Regret mattmontgomery  at:  6/30/2009  

DUI-Documentary is Double EMMY Winner!


“Enduring Regret” Brings Drunk Driver’s Horror Story to TV

The latest lifesaving and behavior changing highway safety film from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety took top honors at the 35 th Annual EMMY Awards in Atlanta Saturday night. The DUI-documentary film entitled, “Enduring Regret”, won EMMY Awards for Best Documentary for a television presentation with dramatic impact and Best Director from the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.


“We produced this compelling Prime Time Special to remind Georgia drivers of all ages about the devastating consequences of one of the deadliest high-risk teen behaviors.. Drinking and driving,” says GOHS Director Bob Dallas.


“Enduring Regret” premiered in September 2008.


The documentary is the latest in a distinguished line of public safety films created by the Emmy Award winning team at ImageMaster Productions. Atlanta filmmaker and Director Dan Johnson says, "My goal was to prevent even one family from going through the pain and suffering documented in this program."


Filmed on location in front of Georgia high school audiences.. And from inside a prison cell in the Georgia Correctional System, “Enduring Regret: Chris Sandy’s Story of Living Life After Causing Death” tells the life-changing story of convicted drunk driver Chris Sandy and his high-risk decision to drive while impaired.


In April of 2000, while speeding from one party to the next, the impact of his DUI crash ripped his victims’ vehicle in half, pinning an elderly couple inside. His destructive decision behind the wheel killed innocent grandparents and put Chris Sandy behind bars at the age of twenty-two. He was sentenced to thirteen years in prison followed by another seventeen years of probation. While Chris Sandy’s incarceration will one day end, his victims’ family is sentenced to a lifetime of immeasurable grief.


“That’s why inmate Chris Sandy has determinedly delivered his public apologies and personal anti-impaired driving message to more than 100-thousand Georgia high school students over the past four years,” says GOHS Deputy Director Spencer Moore.


Through “Enduring Regret”, inmate Chris Sandy speaks in soul-searching detail about consequences that last forever and regret that never goes away. Combining his straightforward confessions and the perspective of youth, Chris Sandy effectively communicates the ultimate horror of teen and young adult drinking and driving.


“Enduring Regret” was created in partnership with the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia Sheriff’s Association, and independent agent Chad Foster. The special was broadcast with support to GOHS from the Georgia Beer Wholesaler’s Association and The Center for Alcohol Policy: A partnership committed to ensuring the legal, safe, and responsible use of alcoholic beverages.


“With help from our dedicated partners, this GOHS documentary film is now delivering Chris Sandy’s horrific first hand account to tens of thousands of new teen drivers that his message could never reach from behind prison bars each year,” says GOHS Public Affairs Director Jim Shuler. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety dedicates this public awareness project to the victims of Chris Sandy’s drunk driving crash and dedicates this EMMY recognition to more than five hundred Georgia families who lost loved ones to alcohol related crashes last year.


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     DeKalb County Move Over Law News Conference mattmontgomery  at:  6/26/2009  

PHOTOS FROM THE DEKALB COUNTY MOVE OVER LAW NEWS CONFERENCE


Move Over Georgia! It’s the law…It’s a lifesaver…And it’s common sense. But this law can carry a hefty five-hundred-dollar-fine for any careless, distracted, or aggressive motorist who ignores it. It’s called Georgia’s Move-Over Law.


The Georgia Move-Over Law has two simple parts:



  • Like the name says, it requires drivers to move-overone lane if possible whenever an emergency vehicle of any kind is working on the side of the road displaying flashing blue, red, yellow or white emergency lights..


And what if traffic is too congested to move-over safely?



  • The Move-Over Law says if there’s no room to move over, drivers mustslow down, belowthe posted speed limit and be prepared to stop.



Police have been enforcing this lifesaving law here in Georgia since 2003… And now, wherever you drive across the country in 2009, forty-eight states have laws like it. Without nationwide Move-Over Laws, more than 169 law enforcement officers have been struck and killed by vehicles along America’s highways since 1997. These tragic twelve years demonstrate that each time an officer makes a traffic stop, it’s one of the gravest dangers police can face on the road today.


As a result, many Georgia police agencies now routinely designate traffic enforcement units to work in pairs during daily patrols. While one officer is working traffic enforcement, a second officer cites drivers who fail to move-over or slow down. This pro-active method of Move-OverLaw enforcement is resulting in more citations and more news coverage about Georgia’s lifesaving statute throughout the state.




The Move-Over Law was passed here after Georgia road crews, traffic enforcement officers, and other first responders endured needless years of roadside deaths and injuries due to careless errors made by distracted drivers as they sped by police making traffic stops and emergency crews working roadside jobsites.


“It’s one of the greatest perils of wearing a uniform,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). “O ur officers observe careless driving nearly every time they make a traffic stop or motorist assist. Anyone who works our roadways is at risk, but our traffic enforcement details are in constant danger.”



The 2008 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) Fallen Heroes Report shows 2008 was the twelfth consecutive year in which crashes and traffic-related incidents either equaled or exceeded gunfire as the leading cause of police officer deaths. Nationwide incident reports show emergency vehicles of all types have been struck while working beside a highway even while their red, yellow, blue or white emergency lights were flashing.


“Failure to move-overhas killer consequences,” said GOHS Director Bob Dallas. “That’s exactly why we have the Move Over Law here in Georgia. And it isn’t just about saving the lives of police officers, deputies and state troopers,” said Director Dallas.




“The law also applies to emergency vehicles operated by our firefighters, paramedics, DOT maintenance and construction crews, and tow truck drivers. These dedicated professionals put their lives on the line every day to make sure our roads are safe for our families to travel,” Dallas said.


But the odds still target police on patrol. Eighteen officers died during their daily traffic enforcement duties last year across this country. Agency figures cannot keep up with the countless cops with injuries from passing motorists and near misses never make it into annual reports.



“So the Move-Over Law is another good reason to slow down on Georgia’s interstates and rural roads,” said Director Dallas. “When a motorist makes the required clearance for a roadside emergency vehicle the margin of safety increases not only for public safety and emergency personnel, but for passing motorists and their passengers as well. Observing the Move-Over Law is vital because motorists like you and me are often crash victims as well,” said Dallas.



Nationally, a thousand motorists are killed every year in work zone crashes and another 40-thousand passenger vehicle occupants are seriously injured. Startling Georgia DOT stats show three-out-of-four work zone fatalities are actually motorists or their passengers, not highway work crews. Now drivers caught speeding or driving recklessly in a Georgia work zone can expect fines up to $2,000.



“Unfortunately, violations of Georgia’s Move-Over Law are still far too common and police still experience too many close calls with too many aggressive drivers ,” said Director Dallas. To reduce the deadly potential for Georgia law enforcement fatalities, legislators here allow local judges to set Move-Over Law violation fines as high as five-hundred-dollars to help modify careless driver behavior. Penalties in other states range as high as a thousand dollars and more states are considering “Move Over” legislation like Georgia’s.


Chances are, police are enforcing the Move-Over Law where you drive and violators are finding out the courts won’t dismiss tickets for drivers just because they haven’t heard about it. Remember, it’s been around for six years now. The Georgia DOT and many municipalities have posted warning signs throughout the State.   And a five-hundred-dollar-fine for the first offense is a costly reminder. But as more local police departments deploy these high-visibility enforcement measures, all anyone has to do to avoid the Move Over Law fine is use this common sense precaution behind the wheel: Slow Down. Change Lanes. Save Lives.”


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     Motorcycle and Scooter Ride to Work Day on June 15th mattmontgomery  at:  6/15/2009  
MOTORCYCLE AND SCOOTER NATIONAL RIDE TO WORK DAY



Monday, June 15, is National Ride to Work Day. 2009 marks the 18th Ride to Work Day around the nation. Ride to Work Day is a Minnesota-based non-profit organization whose mission statement is "advocating and supporting the use of motorcycles and scooters for transportation, and providing information about everyday utility riding to the public." The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) and GOHS supports this group and encourages everyone to participate.

To learn more, click on http://www.ridetowork.org/



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     Multi-State Click It or Ticket Crackdown mattmontgomery  at:  6/2/2009  
POLICE IN THREE STATES JOIN GEORGIA LAW ENFORCEMENT

PHOTOS FROM THE HUNDRED DAYS KICKOFF ON THE TENNESSEE BORDER








“H.E.A.T. means speed, aggressive driving, and impaired driving laws will be strictly enforced from state-to-state in a seamless effort to save lives during the deadly Summer travel period,” says Director Bob Dallas of the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). “This joint operation in North Georgia sends an unmistakable message to the motoring public that safe driving doesn’t stop at the state line. Our traffic laws may come from different books, but we’re all on the same page when it comes to ticketing unbuckled drivers, speeders and aggressive drivers, and taking impaired drivers off our roads.”  The “One Hundred Days of Summer HEAT” campaign is designed to raise awareness about the deadly consequences of speed, drunk and drugged driving, and failure to use safety belts and child restraints.  Your best protection against an encounter with a drunk driver is a buckled safety belt.

Enforcement agents from South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia joined together last Friday for a kickoff campaign of the One Hundred Days of Summer HEAT. Below are some of the photographs at the Tennessee Welcome Center. Remember, the HEAT is on in 2009. Slow Down, Buckle Up, and Don't Drink and Drive
.

Click on each thumbnail for a larger image....


























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