The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has announced that the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is one of 17 law enforcement agencies in Georgia to receive a Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic grant for the 2015 grant season. Referred to as an H.E.A.T. grant, the Bibb County Sheriff Office’s award totals $53,800.00.
The goal of the H.E.A.T. program is to combat crashes, injuries and fatalities caused by impaired driving and speeding, while also increasing seatbelt use and educating the public about traffic safety and the dangers of DUI.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office H.E.A.T Unit will use the grant from GOHS to develop and implement strategies to reduce local traffic crashes due to aggressive and dangerous driving behaviors.
“Agencies like the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office receive this H.E.A.T. grants because they have showed a particular dedication to protecting their citizens from impaired drivers,” said GOHS Director Harris Blackwood. “This dedication is crucial because alcohol-related crash deaths still account for 25 percent of traffic fatalities in Georgia. We are grateful to Bibb County Sheriff David Davis and his staff for their continued hard work.”
Totaling $3.2 million for 2015, H.E.A.T. grants fund specialize traffic enforcement units in counties throughout the state. The program was designed to assist Georgia jurisdictions with the highest rates of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities with grants awarded based on impaired driving and speeding data.
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said, “We are very grateful to once again receive this grant for our HEAT Unit. Over the years the deputies assigned to this unit have made a significant impact on the safety of the motoring public by arresting intoxicated drivers and ticketing those who drive hazardously on our roadways.”
As law enforcement partners in the Operation Zero Tolerance DUI and Click It or Ticket seatbelt campaigns, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office will also conduct mobilizations throughout the year in coordination with GOHS’s year-round waves of high visibility patrols, multi-jurisdictional road checks and sobriety checkpoints.
For more information about the H.E.A.T. program or any other GOHS campaign, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org or call 404-656-6996.