The Hall County Sheriff’s Office announces that it has been awarded a major public safety partnership H.E.A.T. grant from the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) in Atlanta.  H.E.A.T. stands for Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic. The primary goals of the H.E.A.T. project are to: (1) reduce impaired driving crashes; (2) reduce excessive speeding; (3) increase the safety belt usage rate; and (4) educate the public on traffic safety matters. The total amount of funds awarded to Hall County for FY 2009 is $93,800.00

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office H.E.A.T. Unit will continue to develop and implement strategies to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities from drugs and alcohol, speed and aggressive driving, and non-use of safety belts within their jurisdiction in the GOHS North East Traffic Enforcement Network. Sixteen Regional Traffic Enforcement Networks across the state, sponsored by the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, help enforce Georgia’s year-round speed, impaired driving, and safety belt campaigns.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office H.E.A.T. unit will coordinate with GOHS year-round waves of high visibility concentrated patrols, multi-jurisdictional road checks, and sobriety checkpoints as law enforcement partners in the Operation Zero Tolerance initiatives and the Click It Or Ticket mobilizations.

The mission of the participating GOHS H.E.A.T. units is to reduce the motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through the systematic delivery of effective speed, DUI and aggressive driving countermeasures. Georgia’s H.E.A.T. Units consistently provide the kind of high-profile traffic law enforcement required to save lives on our highways. The presence of H.E.A.T. Units significantly increases public awareness and acts as a deterrent to many would-be impaired drivers.  We know from experience that H.E.A.T. units like the Hall County Sheriff’s Office is an effective way to maximize our deterrent efforts.