Georgia law enforcement agencies are issuing urgent warnings about drunk driving after recent arrests showed drivers with blood alcohol levels nearly three times the legal limit, while state data shows DUI deaths more than doubled from 213 in 2013 to 507 in 2022.
What’s Happening: The City of South Fulton Police Department and Georgia State Patrol posted warnings this week after separate DUI arrests recorded breath tests of 0.220 and 0.290. Georgia’s legal limit is 0.08.
What’s Important: Alcohol-impaired driving killed 469 people in Georgia in 2021 and 507 in 2022, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Those deaths represented 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2021.
How This Affects Real People: Drunk drivers killed 507 people in Georgia in 2022. Each death leaves behind families, friends, and communities dealing with sudden, preventable loss. Victims include drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehicles who had no role in the decision to drive impaired.
What Police Say: “A breath test of .290 tells a clear story. Impaired driving isn’t a mistake, it’s a decision that puts everyone on the road at risk. If you drink, do not drive. Plan ahead, use a sober ride, and help keep Georgia’s roads safe,” a South Fulton Police spokesman said in a social media post over the weekend.
The Path Forward: The rising death toll reverses decades of progress that began in the 1980s when groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving pushed for stricter laws and cultural change. Law enforcement agencies are now emphasizing ride-sharing services and designated drivers as alternatives to impaired driving.
“Drunk driving is not an oopsie. It’s not forgetting your grocery list. It’s putting yourself behind the wheel of a two-ton machine while you have the reaction time of a tranquilized sloth.”
