Multiple Deaths on Georgia Roads During Christmas Travel

Photo: kpvi.com (Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner Col. Mark McDonough, who kicked off a holiday traffic safety campaign in Albany)

14 people in Georgia, including two in southwest Georgia, lost their lives in traffic crashes over the just-completed 54-hour Christmas holiday travel period, according to reports by the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

That number was down significantly from the Christmas 2018 travel period when 26 people were killed on Georgia roadways. The 2018 travel period, however, was more than twice as long, covering 126 hours from 6 p.m. Dec. 21, a Friday, until midnight on Dec. 26, a Wednesday.

This year’s Christmas travel period, as recognized by the state’s DPS, opened at 6 p.m. Tuesday and ended Thursday night at midnight.

Across Georgia, state troopers investigated 207 traffic crashes that resulted in 102 injuries during the Christmas period. GSP and other DPS officers arrested 124 people for driving under the influence (DUI), and they issued 5,333 citations and 8,222 warnings.

Those numbers also are down sharply from last year.

Georgia roads, which were expected to be at their most congested the day after Christmas, were projected to accommodate nearly 3.1 million travelers from Dec. 21 until the end of New Year’s Day. In metro Atlanta, peak congestion was to have taken place Thursday in a two-hour window that started at 4:30 p.m.

Still to come is the New Year’s travel period that straddles the end of 2019 and the start of 2020. Georgia DPS defines that holiday as the 30 hours from 6 p.m Tuesday — New Year’s Eve — until midnight Wednesday, New Year’s Night.

“It is the primary focus of state troopers and officers to keep a vigilant eye out for motorists breaking state traffic laws and exercising bad driving habits that could potentially cause serious injuries or fatal crashes,” Col. Mark W. McDonough, commissioner of Georgia DPS said, a few days before Christmas.

Georgia State law requires clinical evaluation and the attendance of the DUI program that’s certified/licensed by the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services before your driver’s license can be reinstated if you have been charged with any of the following: