Aug. 23--Traffic fatalities are down in Tennessee and Georgia, but officials say that simply means they will continue to aggressively target drunken and impaired drivers.

"They know that we're out there," said Lt. Charles Lowery Jr., who heads the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office traffic division. "They know that we're out there every weekend and we are concentrating specifically on getting those drunk drivers off the road."

Local and state law enforcement officials plan to wrap up their "100 Days of Heat" summer campaign over Labor Day weekend with a "Hands Across the Border" checkpoint Sept. 2. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office will host sobriety checkpoints.

The "100 Days of Heat" is an effort to reduce excessive speeding on road and targets drivers during summer months because, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas, they represent peak driving times, officials said.

"Hands Across the Border" is a collaboration of law enforcement checkpoints in neighboring states authorities hope will show that traffic enforcement knows no boundaries.

The aggressive public awareness campaigns, coupled with driver checkpoints, have helped reduce fatalities in Tennessee and Georgia, state officials say.

As of Wednesday, preliminary statistics show traffic deaths in Georgia were down 129 from the same date last year. In Tennessee, traffic fatalities were down 72 compared to the same time last year.

"The goal here is to have the public drive safely. In other words, to change their behavior to the extent that they aren't choosing to drink and drive, not wear their safety belt or become an extreme speeder," said Bob Dallas, executive director of the Georgia Governor's Highway Safety Office.

And even though the economy has suffered, people haven't driven any fewer miles in their vehicles, said Kendall Poole, executive director of the Tennessee Governor's Highway Safety Office.

In 2008, Tennessee saw 1,035 traffic deaths, the lowest since 1963.

"You have to remember last year was a record-setting year (in terms of fatalities)," Mr. Poole said. "We're already ahead of the pace we set last year. We always want to couch it with: The year isn't over. But we're going to be right at 1,000 fatalities for the year, and that's almost unbelievable."

Georgia saw 1,508 fatalities in 2008, down from 1,648 in 2007, records show.

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