(ATLANTA) The Governors Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) is announcing the Carroll County Sheriffs Office is one of 21 law enforcement agencies in Georgia to receive a Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic grant for the 2021 grant season. Referred to as a H.E.A.T. grant, Carroll County Sheriffs Offices award totals $299,999.98.
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 Carroll County Sheriffs 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. GOHS H.E.A.T. grants are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The loss of one life on our roads is one too many, and the fact almost all fatal traffic crashes can be prevented is one reason why we are awarding this grant, Governors Office of Highway Safety Director Allen Poole said. The target of zero traffic deaths in our nation is achievable, and we will continue to help develop and implement educational messages and enforcement campaigns aimed at bringing our state one step closer to that goal.
Totaling $6.7 million for 2021, H.E.A.T. grants fund specialized traffic enforcement activities 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.
Carroll County is fortunate to have a dedicated group of Deputies who make up the H.E.A.T. Unit at the Carroll County Sheriffs Office. The H.E.A.T. Unit strives hard to ensure the safety of every citizen of Carroll County by enforcing traffic laws and educating the community on safe practices to reduce the number of traffic accidents and fatalities on Georgia roadways, Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley stated. It is a great honor to be selected as one of the twenty-one law enforcement agencies within the State of Georgia to receive this grant.
As law enforcement partners in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over DUI and Click It or Ticket seatbelt campaigns, the Carroll County Sheriffs Office will also conduct mobilizations throughout the year in coordination with GOHSs year-round waves of high visibility patrols, concentrated patrols, and multi-jurisdictional sobriety checkpoints.
The grant will continue through September of 2021.
