State patrol, local traffic enforcement officers gearing up for busy weekend

ATLANTA - Local law enforcement officers and the Georgia State Patrol are getting ready for Christmas weekend.

The state patrol's Gordy Wright tells Georgia News Network Christmas isn't your average holiday for traffic enforcement officers.

Wright says there are last-minute shoppers but also people leaving and entering town for visits. He says law enforcement is also in the middle of a zero- tolerance period and officers are already watching closely for people drinking and driving.

But he says despite an increase in the volume of traffic, a Christmas weekend usually isn't as busy as your average Thanksgiving or New Year's, and fatalities tend to be fewer.

Wright says a big concern, though, is that when a holiday comes over a weekend there is usually an increase in the number of fatal accidents in which alcohol is a factor.