The West Georgia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers makes it their goal to eliminated intoxicated drivers from the roadways and Temple police Officer Jim Hollowood has again shown he is a cut above the rest in doing just that.

West Georgia MADD recently presented Hollowood with its annual Top DUI Award for recording the most DUI arrests in Temple, the third straight year the 11-year law enforcement veteran has received the award. Of 41 DUI arrests made through November of this year in Temple, Hollowood has made 34 of them.

Temple Police Chief Ed Whitt said one of the first things instructors teach during police chiefs’ school is one of the best ways to fight crime is to have a strong, proactive patrol division and Hollowood is the epitome of that in Temple.

“I’d love to take the credit for it, but Hollowood was doing this before I got here,” Whitt said. “People know him because he’s got their autograph on a ticket and they get mad at him, but they don’t look at the bigger picture and the lives he may be saving. He’s just doing what we pay him to do, which is to fight crime.”

Hollowood said he is only doing his job, but it’s a job he takes seriously.

“Each impaired driver I get off the road not only protects my family, but yours and everybody elses’,” he said.

Hollowood believes his knack for spotting impaired drivers comes down to the extra training he’s received over the years and his 10-year experience as a paramedic prior to becoming a police officer allows him to recognize the signs of a driver under the influence.

“A lot of times it’s just little subtle things that a lot of people don’t pick up on,” he said. “Everybody can see the obvious failure to maintain lane, but the not so obvious failure to maintain lane is sometimes harder to spot. The obvious being crossing over to the wrong side of the road or completely going off the road, but the not so obvious is weaving from side to side hitting the yellow line and the white line continuously. Everybody does it now and then, but when you do it constantly on a one-mile stretch of road there’s a problem.”

Hollowood also gives some of the credit to genetics. He said people sometimes tease him about his sense of smell, but his nose is actually extremely sensitive to the smell of alcoholic.

“I can pick up on the slightest hint of alcoholic beverages,” he said.

Other indicators of an impaired driver Hollowood looks for when he makes a stop is when the person won’t look at him while their talking to him and physical indicators in their eyes. He said he is always trying to keep current on the indicators and checks them.

“Anytime I have any contact with anybody on the highways, in the back of my mind it’s always something I’m looking for,” he said. “I do that constantly while I’m patrolling.”

Hollowood said he believes the DUI laws have helped curb the number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths, but the number of alcohol-impaired drivers is about the same as when he first started in law enforcement and the number of prescription-related DUI arrests have gone up in recent years.

“Those are the hardest ones to pick up on and my experience as a paramedic actually helps me a lot with that because I can pick up indicators that someone else might not see,” he said. “I had a couple DUIs last year that were prescription drug-related.”

Whitt said he would like the department as a whole to be more observant when it comes to DUIs within the city limits and it may take some additional training to make sure that happens.

“I’ve been here four or five months and there’s a lot of things this upcoming year training-wise I want to get going,” he said. “I’d like to see more parody in those (DUI) numbers in this upcoming year, but also I’d like to see those numbers be zero. I’d love no one to come through the city limits legally under the influence, but that’s not going to happen.”

This was the 4th Annual MADD West GA Law Enforcement Awards Banquet, which is tied to the organization’s annual “Tie-One-On For Safety” campaign. The campaign runs Thanksgiving Day through New Years — the largest drinking time frame.

Tie-One-On For Safety encourages everyone to display a red ribbon on their vehicle to signify they will not drink and drive during the holiday season. People in the community may request red ribbons by calling their local police office or contacting West Georgia MADD by e-mail at carroll.ga@madd.org.

Other Carroll County law enforcement officer receiving the 2009 Top DUI award from West Georgia MADD were: Deputy Steve Miller

Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; Officer Brad Easterwood, Carrollton Police Department; Officer Scott Adams, Villa Rica Police Department; Officer Michael Thomas Sr., Whitesburg Police Department; Officer Mike Bryant, Mt. Zion Police Department; Officer Brent Lipham, Bowdon Police Department; TFC John E. Hutcheson, Georgia State Patrol – Post 4; and Cpl. Travis Burton

University Of West Georgia Campus Police.

Also, accepting the 2009 Victim Impact Panel Awards for their respective law enforcement agency was: Chief Michael Mansour, Villa Rica Police Department; and Chief Joel Richards, Carrollton Police Department. Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Holcombe received the 2009 WRTEN Award for conducting routine sobriety check points and coordinating the annual Hands Across the Border event, TFC Michael Land of Georgia State Patrol Post 4 received the 2009 Intern Program Award for dedication to the MADD Intern Program and Officer Mario Pitts of the Carrollton Police Department received the 2009 Education Award for his dedication to alchohol and drug awareness.