The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) has unveiled new vehicles for its HEAT team, just in time for the Fourth of July weekend.
Sheriff Gino Brantley secured federal funding for three new trucks for the department’s Highway Enforcement for Addressing Traffic (HEAT) team, currently comprised of three officers, which specializes in addressing traffic safety, focusing on incidents such as impaired or aggressive driving.
Wednesday afternoon, the HEAT officers were issued their new enhanced transports at the sheriff’s office on Walton Way. RCSO Maj. Robbie Silas says the new vehicles will help the HEAT team decrease the number of auto accidents in the city.
“Right now, we’re averaging close to 5,000 accidents just in six months of this year,” said Silas. “We’re in 16, 17 fatalities for the year. We’ve been averaging 40 or more over the last few years, and we’ve got to reduce them. So people don’t realize what people have been doing on roadways.”
After successfully applying for a Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) grant, the RCSO was issued $1.2 million in funds over the next five years, covering the cost of the vehicles, equipment and even the salaries of the officers, apart from overtime.
Silas underscored that because Brantley was able to secure the GOHS funds, the HEAT officers have been equipped “at no expense to local taxpayers.”
The new HEAT vehicles arrive in the midst of the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer,” the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day during which road accidents often spike.
HEAT officers are specially trained in monitoring traffic safety, particularly in detecting potential DUIs. Among the vehicles’ features are new siren boxes with varieties of tones, advanced radar detection and a message board that can vocalize commands, such as to pull over or to exit a vehicle, in both English and Spanish.
“We’re going to be very visible, which will definitely help slow traffic down,” said Deputy Travis Gordon with HEAT. “With all the features that we have in these new cars, I definitely think it’ll make us safer, our community safer. We’re super excited.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
