-- Valdosta, Ga. -- December 13, 2012 --

So far this year there have been more than eleven hundred fatalities on Georgia's roadways. If statistics from past years hold true, about one in four of those deaths are because of alcohol. this time of year can be the deadliest.

Lieutenant Aaron Kirk of the Valdosta Police Department said "there's more parties, people are going out more. They're celebrating the Christmas season so there is more drinking."

More drinking means more accidents. That's why the Governor's Office of Highway Safety launched Operation Safe Holidays. The goal: making sure the state doesn't hit a six year high when it comes to traffic deaths.

A majority of this year's fatalities didn't happen on state highways. Every new death takes an emotional toll on the men and women whose job it is to pick up the pieces.

Sergeant Alex Adair of the Valdosta Police Department said "as a father for me, I've got a sixteen year old driving now. And every time she gets behind the wheel and goes some where I'm supposed to trust her and let her go and let her grow up. But you think about what I saw. You think about the guy that crossed the line and hit somebody because he was drinking."

The Valdosta Police Department plans to have DUI checkpoints as well as their HEAT squad on pontrol as Christmas nears.