ATLANTA – The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has awarded a $1.8 million H.E.A.T. grant to the Georgia State Patrol.
The grant will allow the state patrol to continue its Nighthawks DUI Task Force – a group of state troopers who have received specialized DUI enforcement training – and its Administrative License Suspension (ALS) Program, the state patrol said.
H.E.A.T. is an acronym for Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic and aims to reduce fatal crashes involving driver impairment and speeding while increasing the use of seat belts.
“The H.E.A.T. grant helps support the Georgia State Patrol’s enforcement efforts and is a reminder of their dedication in supporting the GOHS mission to protect Georgians from speeders and impaired drivers,” GOHS Director Harris Blackwood said in a news release.
“Crashes involving impaired drivers killed 331 people across Georgia in 2009,” Blackwood added. “The chance of a fatal crash involving drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol is much higher than the rate for fatal crashes not related to impairment.”
