ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Fifteen people were charged with DUI during weekend roadblocks on the bypass in Albany. Officers are particularly disturbed by some many DUI arrests on such a busy road.
More than 60 police officers and deputies from 12 counties set up roadblocks across Dougherty County Friday night. One of the largest on the Liberty Bypass, where they made close to a dozen DUI arrests.
“One of the biggest areas we identified, we have a lot of people who drive down the Liberty Bypass who have been consuming alcohol after they leave an establishment,” said Dougherty County Police Lt. Thomas Jackson.
Police also held five people who tested positive for alcohol, but did not meet the DUI limit. Officers made them call people to drive them home. In all Dougherty County Police handed out 120 citations in the six hour long roadblock, and arrested eight people.
Albany Police handed out 58 citations, made six arrests, one of them a DUI.
The Georgia State Patrol gave out 69 tickets, 29 warnings, and arrested 8 drivers for DUI. Not all of those DUI arrests were on the Bypass.
Five people have died in crashes and accidents on the Liberty Bypass so far in 2008, none of which involved DUI’s. But Police are concerned by the weekend’s results.
“It’s another rationality to show you that the Liberty Expressway is a deadly roadway,” Jackson said.
Law enforcement knows speed is one main reason the Expressway is so dangerous, add alcohol to that speed, and there is concern.
“Our local law enforcement will certainly step up their patrols in areas where we find high numbers of violations,” said Safe Communities Coordinator Michele DeMott.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety says the number of DUI crashes in Dougherty County have gone down, but Cops say they will step up patrols on the Liberty Bypass to keep them that way.
The Southwest Georgia Traffic Enforcement Network conducts county wide roadblocks once a month.
News report/article by Jim Wallce, WALB News
Filed under: Georgia DUI | Tagged: Georgia DUI, Georgia DUI Roadblocks, Gerogia Traffic Enforcement |
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