After a record month for crashes in Dalton, the Dalton Police Department is once again focusing on curbing distracted driving on the city’s roadways. To coincide with the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas travel seasons, the DPD is launching “Operation Home For The Holidays” this week with social media messaging and traffic education and enforcement focusing on distracted drivers in the city. The enforcement effort coincides with other nationwide efforts such as “Click It Or Ticket” and “Operation Zero Tolerance” that focus on seat belt usage and impaired driving, respectively. “Operation Home For The Holidays” begins this week and will run through Dec. 26.
October 2015 was the worst month for crashes in Dalton since at least 2011. There were 150 crashes reported in October, an increase of 36 crashes over September. 27 of those crashes caused injuries. Traffic investigators believe a number of different factors led to the increase, including a large number of rainy days and also several days with above normal temperatures. Rainy days and inclement weather often create hazardous driving conditions and nicer days usually lead to increased traffic. Investigators with the Dalton Police Department’s Traffic Unit also believe that distracted driving could have contributed to a large number of crashes in October. Distraction was listed as a primary contributing factor in 10 crashes in October, but there were a total of 60 rear-end collisions. Investigators often attribute to distraction in addition to other factors such as following too closely.
To try to reduce the number of crashes caused by distracted drivers during the holiday travel period, the DPD is once again focusing on drivers who can’t seem to focus on the road. Last October, the department conducted a month-long campaign focused on educating drivers about the danger of driving while distracted. Georgia law states that driving while distracted by any factor that keeps a driver from safely operating their vehicle is against the law. Texting or accessing any date on a cell phone while driving is against Georgia law, and for drivers under the age of 18 it is also illegal to talk on a phone while driving. Much like last year’s effort, Operation Home For The Holidays will include messaging using both traditional and social media outlets, as well as partnering with area businesses to share messages reminding drivers to focus on the road ahead. There will also be enforcement efforts in Dalton’s worst areas for crashes, such as Walnut Avenue and Glenwood Avenue.
Officials said, "When you’re on the road, focus on the road. There will be plenty of time to send a text or eat a sandwich made of Thanksgiving leftovers once you reach your destination."