GEORGIA (WFXG) - Georgia State Patrol (GSP) is gearing up for a busy July 4th weekend. This year, GSP says the holiday travel period starts Wednesday, July 3 at 6 p.m. and ends Sunday, July 7 at 11:59 p.m.

GSP says troopers issued more than 15,000 citations last year, along with 15,650 warnings and 502 DUI arrests.

“State Troopers and Officers will be out in full force patrolling the interstates, state routes, and local streets around Georgia during what AAA projects to be the busiest Independence Day holiday period on record,” said Colonel William W. Hitchens III, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. 

During this holiday period, State troopers and officers will be on patrol with the goal of keeping the number of traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities to a minimum. GSP is participating in the Operation Zero Tolerance campaign, a nationwide mobilization against impaired driving, as well as the 100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T. (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) campaign. Troopers will be working alongside sheriff’s deputies and police officers to arrest impaired drivers and crack down on aggressive speeders and distracted drivers.

AAA projects 70.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend. GSP says that's an additional 2.8 million travelers from last year.

This year also marks the sixth anniversary of the Georgia Hands-Free Law, which came into effect July 1, 2018. Since the law, troopers say they have issued more than 84,000 hands-free citations.

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