JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Officers from police departments in Tennessee and Alabama recently participated in the Hands Across the Border checkpoint at the nearby state line on Highway 72.
Hands Across the Border is a traffic checkpoint initiative conducted by multiple state police departments in a joint effort to promote traffic safety, while also cracking down on both distracted and impaired drivers travelling across the state line. The campaign first began in 1991 between Georgia’s State Patrol and Florida’s Highway Patrol departments, helping reduce and prevent DUI-related accidents from occurring between both states – particularity during Labor Day weekend each year when those on the road are travelling through to celebrate Labor Day weekend whilst on vacation. The campaign since its inception quickly grew into all four states bordering Georgia, including Tennessee and Alabama which also use it to further broaden the campaign as well as both state’s outreach on promoting driver safety and the prevention of distracted and impaired driving.
The recent traffic checkpoint was conducted on Friday, May 16. Police officers, state troopers and highway patrolmen from both states gathered together to oversee and direct incoming traffic on Highway 72 between South Pittsburg and nearby Bridgeport, Alabama. No statistics regarding arrests or citations were immediately released upon the checkpoint’s conclusion.
Photo from Whitwell Police Department Facebook Page
