Scott Myrick | WNEG NewsChannel 32 | Tuesday, February 20, 2007
White County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Still spends most of his time on the road.
"There are days that you'll run into 25, 30, 35, even 40 miles an hour over the speed limit violators that we come in contact with out here," Still tells NewsChannel 32.
Speeding and drunk driving have become big problems in the county.
"A lot of folks drive too fast, and when you get speeds of 80 or 90 miles an hour on two lane roads, that's extremely serious," he says.
It's gotten so bad, Sheriff Neal Walden partnered with the Georgia "highway enforcement of aggressive traffic" program.
"HEAT", as it's called, gave the White County Sheriff's Office a $145,000 grant to crack down on aggressive and impaired driving. The sheriff bought two new patrol cars and hired a new officer.
"That's all we're concentrating on here with these two vehicles is traffic. They don't answer regular calls unless it's a backup call," Sheriff Walden says.
About 15 people have died in car crashes here in White County over the past 3 years. If this program can make a dent in those numbers, the sheriff says the grant is money well spent.
"We have construction here in Cleveland on Highway 77," Still says.
And with a posted speed of 35 miles an hour, he monitors the spot a lot.
"This one's been confirmed at a speed of 48 miles an hour," he remarked.
The new HEAT patrols started three weeks ago and already seeing some results. Deputies are stopping and ticketing as many as 20 people during each shift.
"Enforcing the traffic laws is going to be about the biggest way to slow these people down," Sheriff Walden says.
He says new cars patrolling the streets are a good start. Visible patrols will be out even more once the spring and summer tourism season arrives. Deputies expect the number of people they pull over to at least double. The Hall County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia State Patrol also take part in the "HEAT" program.
