The Hall County Sheriff’s Office was named one of 26 Georgia law enforcement agencies to receive a Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic grant for the Federal 2025 Fiscal Year by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Known as the HEAT grant, HCSO was awarded $151,680. The program aims to combat crashes, injuries and fatalities caused by impaired driving and speeding and increase seat belt use. HEAT also educates the public about traffic safety and the dangers of DUI.
The HCSO shared in a release it plans to use the funds to develop and implement strategies to reduce traffic accidents caused by aggressive driving behaviors.
“Since Hall County began participating in the most recent H.E.A.T. grant cycle, we have seen a tremendous decrease in fatality accidents on our roadways,” Sheriff Gerald Couch said. “The Sheriff’s Office will continue to make wise use of the funding in our pursuit to keep residents and visitors to our community safe on the roads.”
HEAT grants provide funding to specialized traffic enforcement units throughout the state. The program was designed to aid jurisdictions in Georgia with high rates of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities. Grants are awarded based on impaired driving and speeding data.
“Federal and state crash data show sustained enforcement of traffic laws reduces crashes and saves lives on our roads,” Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said. “GOHS will continue to partner with state and local law enforcement to implement projects and initiatives designed to protect everyone using our roads and to help reach our goal of zero traffic deaths in Georgia and our nation.”
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office are law enforcement partners in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over DUI campaign and the Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign. Throughout the year, the department will conduct mobilizations in coordination with GOHS’s year-round waves of high visibility patrols, multi-jurisdictional road checks and sobriety checkpoints.
