Fulton County

Fulton County sees more DUIs, speeders, crashes than most of state, new report shows

FULTON COUNTY, Ga — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is cracking down on distracted and dangerous drivers after a new report ranked the county among the highest in the state of Georgia for unsafe drivers.

Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln exclusively joined Fulton County deputies, Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta police and more at a traffic checkpoint designed to catch some of those dangerous drivers.

In fact, a crash happened right behind Lincoln as she reported live on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. The driver wasn’t paying attention and crashed into the back of a car that was slowing down.

Police arrested that driver and say they found guns and drugs in the car.

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The checkpoint started at 9:30 p.m. in the City of South Fulton. It resulted in dozens of traffic citations and even a police chase after one driver chose to speed away.

“In every six categories that the State tracks, Fulton County is number one in every one of them,” said Sgt. Michael Lynch with the FCSO Traffic Safety Unit.

Officials say that in 2022 alone, Fulton County has had more than 36,000 crashes. The total in 2021 was over 65,000.

“It’s sad that a lot of focus doesn’t get out on traffic-related accidents fatalities but it’s a number that keeps on increasing,” said Lynch.

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Lynch says numbers from Fulton County reveal the county ranks as one of the highest when it comes to DUI, speeding, and other traffic-related incidents based on numbers they and 15 other jurisdictions sent to the state.

“A lot of it is going to be your street racers,” said Lynch.

Lynch says because of this, they’re conducting road stops monthly throughout Fulton County.

Lincoln also found that the number of crashes across the state of Georgia dramatically increased between 2020 and 2021, according to the Department of Transportation.

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