“Belts & Jackets” Safety Tour stops at Lake Blackshear Wednesday

State and local law enforcement bring important safety message before Memorial Day Holiday weekend

CORDELE, Ga. – With more than one million Georgians predicted to be on the road during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), Georgia State Patrol and local law enforcement officers remind everyone to begin every trip by clicking their seat belt. Troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers will be enforcing all traffic laws during the extended holiday weekend, including speeding, DUI, distracted driving, and failure to wear a seat belt.  Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Game Wardens ask everyone heading to their favorite lake, river, or other state waterway to click their life jacket and make sure all children are properly wearing their safety jackets every time they are on the water.  Game Wardens will be patrolling Georgia lakes, rivers and waterways during the holiday weekend where they will be conducting vessel inspections and looking to take all impaired vessel operators they find off the water.  Game Wardens will provide boat rides for photo and video needs after the news briefing.  

According to preliminary state crash data, 15 people were killed in vehicle crashes during the 2024 Memorial Day Holiday weekend in Georgia that began at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 24 and ended at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 27.  Crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) showed half of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in Georgia from 2019-2023 were not wearing seat belts.  According to the 2024 Georgia front-seat daytime seat belt observation study, the use of seat belts in the state has declined over the last five years.  The 2024 state seat belt study found 88.7 of front-seat passengers were wearing seat belts, which is a seven percent decrease from the 2019 seat belt study that found 95.9 percent of front-seat vehicle passengers were wearing seat belts.  According to the DNR Law Enforcement Division, 57 people drowned in Georgia lakes, rivers and other waterways in 2024.  Game Wardens investigated 137 boating incidents that killed 20 people and injured 50 people and made 273 Boating Under the Influence arrests in 2024.  Georgia law prohibits persons from operating motor vehicles or watercraft with a Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level of .08 and higher. 

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