ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) – As drivers hit the highway for the vacation weekend, they’re not alone.

Georgia State Patrol troopers are out in drive, ensuring drivers hold themselves and others secure.

“We’ll be looking for speeders, people texting and driving, driving impaired, so please slow down, put down the phone,” stated GSP Sgt. Jeremy Hilley.

“Be careful, pay attention to others on the roadway. It’s not just you out there, there’s other people, families traveling,” he stated.

Hilley stated 16 individuals have been killed on Georgia roadways over the lengthy July 4th weekend final 12 months.

He urges individuals to make a plan forward of time if their celebrating contains ingesting alcohol.

“In some cases people like to put sleeping bags and pillows in their car and crash on their friend’s couch because it’s better to crash there than on the interstate,” he stated.

Hilley has been the one to inform individuals their family members have been killed in a drunk driving accident and hopes he doesn’t should do it once more.

“The very first fatal accident I ever worked was on Cinco de Mayo and it was a single vehicle and it was a son and he had just dropped his mom off and she stated, ‘I knew I shouldn’t have let him drive.’ That was very hard,” he stated. “It’s rough. It’s one that you don’t forget. You remember every single detail of the accident and the interaction with the family member. I would say it gets easier over time to talk to people and tell them that they’ve lost a loved one in an accident but it does not get easier.”

In addition to rideshare providers which might be accessible, AAA affords its Tow To Go Program in metro Atlanta on vacation weekends. Drivers can name 855-2-TOW-2-GO and a tow truck will take them and their automobile inside ten miles to get residence or someplace secure. It’s free and accessible to AAA members and non-members.

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