Quiet Start to 2015 on Ga. Highways

So far, state officials are reporting a safe New Year’s holiday.

As of this morning, the Georgia Department of Public Safety says there have not been any fatalities on Georgia highways during the early part of the New Year’s travel period.

The New Year’s travel period began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and continues through midnight Sunday.

It is 102 hours long.

Last year during a 30-hour holiday period for New Year’s, Georgia State Patrol troopers investigated 131 crashes that resulted in one fatality and 66 injuries.

The New Year’s holiday travel period is a mobilization period for “Operation Zero Tolerance.”

During “Operation Zero Tolerance,” Georgia state troopers team up with local law enforcement from across the state for a high-visibility campaign that targets impaired drivers.

State troopers remind people to have a designated driver if they consume any alcohol, to leave plenty of time to get to their destination, to make sure everyone is wearing a seatbelt, to make sure children are properly restrained, to avoid texting and driving, and to obey the posted speed limit.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Transportation has suspended construction-related lane closures through 5 a.m. Friday on interstates and major state routes for the New Year’s holiday.

And of course, Stephens County government offices and Toccoa City Hall are both closed today for the New Year’s holiday.

In the city of Toccoa, routes for garbage and recycling scheduled to be picked up today will be picked up on Friday.

Commercial garbage will be picked up as usual, but yard waste and other items will not be picked up.