Georgia State Patrol plans increased patrols, promotes road safety for Labor Day holiday travel period

ALBANY, Ga. – It’s gonna be a busy Labor Day weekend on the roads. And, we caught up with the Georgia State Patrol about how busy they’re going to be and how you can prepare.

We caught up with the Assistant Commander, Sergeant Christopher Jewell at Post 40 Tuesday afternoon…

And… they’re already gearing up to roll out.

“The Labor Day holiday patrol starts this weekend, beginning Friday at about 6 p.m. It’s going to extend all the way through Monday evening, just before midnight. And… we’ll be out in full force. About 75% of our personnel will be on the roads and highways at any given time during the during the entire holiday patrol,” said Sgt. Christopher Jewell, Asst. Post Commander, GSP Post 40.

According to Triple A, this Labor Day weekend is going to be the busiest the roads have been in a couple of years

But… it isn’t just going to be those making one last trip to the beaches or the lakes who are going to be hitting the road.

“This weekend coincides with the opening weekend of a college football season beginning there. A lot of big games this weekend. So, that’s going have a lot of people on the roads. A lot of colleges are back in and a lot of people traveling back and forth from home to their schools. And, then, of course, everybody trying to get those last minute trips in before the fall season is upon us,” said Sgt. Jewell.

While many may not think of Labor Day as a big holiday, the state patrol says it’s surprisingly one of the more active holidays for impaired driving.

“And… just to throw out an important statistic: last Labor Day weekend statewide, we had 358 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That’s a very significantly high number. It’s a higher than it’s been in both in previous years,” said Sgt. Jewell.

If you are hitting the road for the holiday weekend, the state patrol wants to remind you of a few other things.

“Know your route. Know where are you going. And, also look up your vehicle. Make sure your vehicle is safe to drive before you put it on the highway,” said Sgt. Jewell.

Above everything else, the Georgia State Patrol wants to remind everyone that if you are hitting the road for the holiday weekend, to keep your hands off your phone.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, 21 traffic related fatalities were recorded over 2023’s labor day weekend.

Brian Roche reporting.

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