Crime & Safety

Georgia 2012 Memorial Day Weekend Traffic Fatalities Already at 13

With 11 hours left in the 78-hour holiday period, Georgia has already tied last year's number of traffic fatalities reported by Georgia State Patrol Posts.

Traffic was expected to be heavy this Memorial Day holiday travel period and Georgia State Patrol put out press releases early, urging caution before crowds hit the roads. Every year GSP keeps count of traffic accident and the injury and fatality rate on Georgia roads for the 78-hour holiday period beginning Friday at 6 p.m. and ending at midnight Memorial Day.

This year, at 1 p.m. on Memorial Day, and before the heaviest travel period when everybody is headed home, GSP already reported 13 fatalities, six of them at GSP posts and the rest from other agencies. This ties the number of fatalities reported for the whole Memorial Day weekend in 2011 by GSP. When other reporting agencies were included, a total of 19 fatalities were reported in 2011.

The following fatalities were reported by 1 p.m. on May 28, 2012:

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Troop A (1) GSP LaFayette

Troop B (2) GSP Toccoa, GSP Athens

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Troop C (2) Cobb Co. Police (2)

Troop D (2) Columbus Police (2)

Troop E (1) Putnam Co. Sheriff’s Office

Troop F (2) GSP Dublin, GSP Helena

Troop H (3) GSP Douglas; (1) Houston Co. Sheriff’s Office (2)

The closest one to the Loganville/Grayson area was one . Both Gwinnett and Walton counties were reporting no traffic fatalities as at 1 p.m. on Memorial Day.

In a press release, GSP officials noted that last year during the Memorial Day holiday travel period, they investigated 312 traffic crashes that resulted in 236 injuries and 13 traffic deaths.  In the fatal crashes, three victims were motorcycle operators and one person killed was operating an all-terrain vehicle. Alcohol was a contributing factor in six of the 13 fatalities and eight of the nine people killed in either a passenger car or pickup truck were not wearing seat belts. Operation Click It or Ticket was instituted prior to this year's heavy travel period and remains in force until June 3.

GSP officials warn that, in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources, they are still urging responsibility and safety whether on the roads or on the water.

“Past experience has shown that warm weather and outdoor recreational activities can lead to an increase in the number of impaired drivers behind the wheel,” Col. Mark McDonough, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said in a press release. “The goal of our partnership with the Department of Natural Resources is to keep you safe whether you are on the roads or on the water.”

“Georgia DNR and the Georgia State Patrol would like to emphasize responsibility and safety, especially during the increased traffic expected on holiday weekends,” said Lt. Colonel Jeff Weaver, DNR assistant chief of law enforcement.  “Alcohol, mixed with driving or boating activities, creates dangerous conditions that can lead not only to an arrest, but also to tragedy.”


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