COVINGTON, Ga. - The Newton County Sheriff's Office partnered with the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety to remove drunk drivers off the road during the annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, which will be held through Monday, Sept. 2.

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign coincided with the 28th annual Hands Across the Border campaign this year, where state and local law enforcement work together to take drunk and drugged drivers off the road as well as issue citations for distracted driving, speeding and other traffic violations. 

Law enforcement in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida participate in Hands Across the Border, which kicked off Monday, Aug. 26 and will conclude Friday, Aug. 30.

"Hands Across the Border started in 1991 as a friendly wager between the Georgia State Patrol and Florida Highway Patrol to see which agency could limit the number of alcohol-related traffic deaths in their state during the Labor Day travel period," according to the Georgia GOHS Aug. 23 news release. "Within 10 years, the effort grew to all states bordering Georgia holding joint road checks at their state lines on the week before Labor Day with the goal of taking impaired drivers off the roads prior to the final summer holiday travel period of the year."

NCSO Sheriff Brown issued an Aug. 29 press release, stating aggressive campaigns- such as Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Hands Across the Border - have shown to reduce traffic fatalities. He said traffic fatalities decreased from 20 in 2018 to three in 2019.

The goal of Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Hands Across the Border is to reduce the number of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities.

"With a major travel weekend coming up and so many warm-weather vacation destinations across the southeast, we want everyone to make sure they drive sober, put down their phones, slow down and that everyone in their vehicle is properly buckled up," GOHS Law Enforcement Services Director Roger Hayes said in the Aug. 23 release.