Police arrested nearly 500 drunk drivers on Georgia roads during the Independence Day holiday weekend and 13 people died in traffic crashes.
🍺 What’s Happening: Georgia State Patrol and local officers made 490 DUI arrests during the 78-hour holiday period from Thursday evening through Sunday night. Officers conducted over 20,970 traffic stops across the state.
🚨 Why It Matters: That’s 18 more DUI arrests than last year’s July 4th holiday weekend, even though fewer people died on the roads. More drunk drivers are getting caught, but they’re still out there threatening your family’s safety.
🔍 Between the Lines: The numbers show a troubling trend. While deaths dropped from 18 last year to 13 this year, DUI arrests climbed from 472 to 490. That means more impaired drivers were on the road, but better enforcement likely saved lives.
📊 The Big Picture: Georgia consistently ranks among the nation’s worst states for drunk driving deaths. The holiday weekend arrests average out to more than six DUI arrests every hour statewide. Each arrest represents a potential tragedy prevented, but the volume shows how widespread the problem remains during holiday celebrations.
State troopers investigated eight fatal crashes while local agencies handled five more. The crashes spread across nine patrol areas from metro Atlanta to rural south Georgia.
Officers also wrote over 790 tickets for distracted driving and nearly 1,335 for seatbelt violations. More than 250 citations went to parents who failed to properly secure children in car seats during family trips.
The enforcement blitz resulted in over 275 total crashes that injured nearly 135 people. Officers issued more than 14,710 warnings and 11,665 citations during the holiday crackdown.
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
