Let's hope this trend and our taxes will decline in the coming years!
Law enforcement officers across the region said New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were among the quietest anyone could remember.
"I think the message is finally starting to sink in that we are going to do everything we can to make sure on the high-volume holidays people don't drink and drive," said Lt. Scott Gay, of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
Cpl. Chris Wright, of the Georgia State Patrol regional post in Thomson, said traffic on secondary roads and along Interstate 20 was particularly slow.
He also attributed the reduced number of wrecks and DUI cases to years of public campaigning against drunken driving, and he added two other possibilities: The holiday came in the middle of the week, and a bad economy has people being careful.
"The economy, I think, reeled in their spending," Cpl. Wright said. "The seriousness of our economy definitely played a role."
Just two DUI arrests were recorded in Columbia County during the two-day New Year's holiday, according to jail logs at the county detention center.
Richmond County saw most of the area's misbehavior.
Aside from DUIs, deputies issued 21 speeding tickets, 17 seatbelt violations, four suspended license violations, four no-insurance violations and 31 other citations.
Still, Lt. Gay said, driving arrests were down from 2008.
Ten people were charged with DUI on Wednesday night compared to 14 last year, according to sheriff's office records.
Although not a large drop, he said it shows people are becoming more wary of driving drunk.
Meanwhile, the warnings and the watching will continue.
Cpl. Wright, of the state patrol, predicts heavier traffic this weekend, as motorists make their way back home to begin a full work week Monday.
"We'll be out in full force this weekend," he said.
Troopers will give special attention to such violations as speeding, drinking and driving and not wearing seatbelts.
Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.
WRECKS LEAVE four dead
Elsewhere in east central Georgia, the roads were more dangerous.
Judson Farrar, 22, of Harlem, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, was killed Tuesday in Burke County.
According to the State Patrol post in Sylvania, he was a passenger in a car being driven by a 16-year-old female when she crossed the center line of traffic and hit another vehicle head on.
Three people died in a second head-on collision about 6 p.m. Wednesday in Screven County, according to the state patrol.
-- Morris News Service
Comments
Let's hope this trend and our taxes will decline in the coming years!
There are sooooo many GRINCHES out there, folks are staying home to protect their belongings, its a shame, you cant go out or on vacation without worring about whether your house will be ransacked when you return. Something has to be done about all the crime.
Although as impressive as it is to only have 2 DUI cases in Columbia County over the New Year's holidays, I'm wondering why they didn't list how many speeding violations, seatbelt violations, suspended licenses and no insurance violations and other citations this county have. Why list all of Richmond Counties and not Columbia county also, appears to make RC look worse than it really is.
I personally know the family of the airman that was killed over the holiday and i just want to extend my condolenses out to his family. May God bless you and your family in the trying time. Jennifer I am here if you need me. The pain will get better and the sun will keep shining. Be strong and keep in mind that he isnt hurting and he is in a good place.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
