Drivers who continue to flout traffic laws in Glynn County should be on notice. The Glynn County Police Department’s four-person unit designed to stop those drivers who willfully violate the law is still on patrol searching for violators.
The county’s Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic squad, or HEAT, recently received nearly $100,000 grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to continue to finance its efforts.
The HEAT squad concentrates its efforts on cracking down on drivers for their aggressive and distracted driving. That includes impaired drivers, drivers who pay more attention to their phones than the road while driving, excessive speeding and other acts of aggression while on the road.
The state’s investment in the county’s HEAT program has proven successful so far. From Oct. 1, 2021 to Nov. 1 of this year, HEAT officers arrested 277 drivers for DUI and cited another 150 for speeding. They also cited 2,148 people for distracted driving and caught 932 vehicle safety violations for stuff like seatbelts and child seat infractions.
County Police Chief Jacques Battiste told The News that the HEAT officers work tirelessly to keep everyone safe from aggressive and impaired drivers. We are grateful that they are out there, and that the state continues to support this initiative in Glynn County.
We also hope that these statistics and HEAT’s enforcement serve as a wake-up call for the drivers in Glynn County who routinely violate traffic laws. If you drive while impaired or if you pay more attention to your phone than the road, there will be a set of blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror.
There is no excuse for driving distracted. A driver is in charge of a massive machine capable of killing people when mishandled. All it takes is for a driver to lose their concentration momentarily to cause a crash that could kill them, the people in their vehicle, other drivers or pedestrians. There are too many who have grieved the loss of a loved one because of this.
The same goes for driving while impaired. It is one of the dumbest decisions you can make, especially considering the options we have with today’s technology to get people home safely. Ride-sharing and taxi services are easily available so don’t risk your life or the lives of others trying to drive home after having a few drinks.
Aggressive drivers also cause their own fair share of issues. Speeding, tailgating and other infractions can lead to accidents just like impaired and distracted driving. There is no valid reason for surpassing the speed limit. Just as a simple question, would you rather show up late to your destination or not show up at all? The answer should be obvious.
We hope that drivers in Glynn County remember this when they get behind the wheel. If they don’t, we hope the police stop them before those delinquent drivers hurt themselves or others.
