Update to an earlier report: This article includes new information about a story we previously covered. Read our earlier report.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety awarded the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office more than $324,000 in grants for highway safety and traffic enforcement. The awards support a local effort to prevent dangerous-driving crashes and regional enforcement through a seven-county network.
The larger grant, $289,692, is for the county’s Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic, or H.E.A.T., Unit. Effingham County said the unit will develop and carry out strategies to reduce crashes caused by aggressive and dangerous driving. The program also addresses crashes, injuries and fatalities related to impaired driving and speeding, while promoting seat-belt use and public education about traffic safety and DUI dangers.
Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie said the H.E.A.T. grant is intended to change dangerous driving behavior and prevent crashes, rather than simply increase citations.
Regional enforcement work
A second GOHS grant provides $35,430.40 in recognition of Effingham County’s lifesaving work as the coordinating agency for the Southeastern Traffic Enforcement Network. The statewide program has 16 traffic-enforcement networks. The Southeastern network includes agencies in Chatham, Effingham, Bryan, Bulloch, Screven, Evans and Candler counties.
Network coordinator Jamie Thompson said the funding will support partnerships, high-visibility enforcement, and training and resources for participating agencies. The coordinator will organize year-round high-visibility concentrated patrols, multi-jurisdictional road checks and sobriety checkpoints.
The network will also be a partner in Click It or Ticket, Operation Zero Tolerance and the Thunder Taskforce.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
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