Drivers across Northwest Georgia can expect an increased focus on impaired driving as the 35th annual “Hands Across the Border” enforcement campaign gets underway Sunday.

The campaign begins August 23 and brings together agencies from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee in a coordinated effort to remove drunk and drug-impaired drivers from the roads. Sobriety checkpoints will be conducted as part of the campaign.

This year’s mobilization begins Sunday in Columbus before moving to Ringgold on Monday, bringing the campaign to Northwest Georgia. Events will continue in Augusta on Tuesday and Savannah on Wednesday before concluding Thursday at the Georgia Interstate 95 Welcome Center in St. Mary’s.

“Hands Across the Border” dates back to 1991, when state troopers in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida began a friendly challenge aimed at reducing deaths caused by impaired drivers. The effort eventually expanded into a multi-state campaign.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety says Georgia maintains a zero-tolerance approach to impaired driving. The legal blood-alcohol concentration limit for drivers in Georgia is .08.

The campaign comes as authorities prepare for the upcoming Labor Day travel period. Federal crash data cited by state highway safety officials shows nearly 40% of people killed in Georgia crashes during Labor Day holiday periods from 2020 through 2024 were involved in crashes with a driver whose blood-alcohol concentration was .08 or higher.

“Hands Across the Border” also coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which runs from August 19 through Labor Day on September 7.

Georgia authorities plan to continue sobriety checkpoints following the multi-state campaign as Labor Day weekend approaches. State troopers and local agencies will also enforce DUI and other traffic laws throughout the 78-hour Labor Day holiday travel period, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, September 4 and continuing through 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 7.

Motorists are being encouraged to plan ahead if alcohol is part of their Labor Day activities, arrange for a sober driver, buckle up, avoid speeding and eliminate distractions behind the wheel.

The message from highway safety officials heading into the holiday is simple: impaired driving crashes are preventable, and anyone who has been drinking should find another way home.