Florida & Georgia- August 29, 2012

"Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over". That is one of the key messages from Florida and Georgia law enforcement this Labor Day Weekend.

"It's all about saving lives," said Sandy Richardson, with the U.S. Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "It's not necessarily about making arrests, but it's removing that person so that we can prevent serious injuries and fatalities from occurring on our highways this Labor Day weekend."

Hundreds of police, troopers and deputies from both states met Wednesday morning. At the Florida and Georgia Welcome Centers, they shook hands and shared goals. It's called "Hands Across The Border".

"We're one large brotherhood and we're all after the same common ground no matter what uniform you wear," said Powell Harrelson, with Georgia's Governor's Office Of Highway Safety.

Hands Across The Border is an annual event where officers come from both Florida and Georgia to meet to enforce against speeding, drinking and driving, and of course driving without a seat belt on.

"You know it's the end of the summer and people want to travel, to get that last vacation in, before everybody goes back to school," said Powell Harrelson. "So we want people just to stay safe and stay alive."

They will be out paroling the highways and you can expect plenty of safety check points.

According to Georgia's Office of Highway Safety, one person dies every 51 minutes in this country in an alcohol-related traffic accident. That is all the reason they need to crack down on impaired drivers.