Press Release from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office:Sheriff Donnie Craig announces the receipt of the Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The Pickens Sheriff’s Office was one of three Georgia law enforcement agencies to receive the HEAT grant in 2012. This grant exists to combat the death and injuries cause by impaired driving crashes and excessive speeding. The program also focuses on increasing the use of safety belts. In addition, the grant is also used to educate the public about traffic safety and the danger of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The 2012 Governor’s Office of Highway Safety HEAT grants are awarded to fund specialized traffic enforcement units in strategic high-risk counties across the state. Sheriff Donnie Craig stated “We will be able to get impaired drivers off of the roadway in our community through the HEAT Project. We plan to join agencies throughout the State of Georgia in taking a deliberate step toward reducing the number of injuries and deaths in Pickens County resulting from automobile accidents.”

The HEAT grant will be for the purchase of specialized vehicles and traffic equipment and for the training and salary of these specialized deputies to man these units. The grant totals $143,200. “These funds will increase our visibility without burdening the taxpayers of Pickens County.” Sheriff Craig stated.

Last year HEAT Units saved thousands of motorists from harm on Georgia highways when they arrested more than seven-thousand drunk drivers. HEAT officers also saved the lives of thousands more Georgians by writing over 14 thousand seatbelt and child safety seat tickets.