Motorists were found to have violated the law more than 100 times during Covington County’s holiday traffic blitz, which began Dec. 1 and ended at the first of the year, said Chief Deputy David Anderson of the Covington County Sheriff’s Office.

Anderson said his department made 103 contacts during the blitz, which targeted speeders and impaired drivers on county roads and some state roads.

Deputies worked a total of 48 hours on the project, which was funded by a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), which is administered through the Southeast Alabama Regional Traffic and Safety Division.

Included in the 103 contacts were 45 citations ranging from driving while under the influence to violations for seat belt use, driver’s license violations and insurance violations, and 58 warning tickets for speeders.

“As you can see, the majority of those contacts were for speeding,” Anderson said. “We understand it was a holiday, and people wanted to get where they were going. It was just our job to make sure they got there safely while traveling through Covington County.”

Statewide, five people lost their lives during the holiday traveling period. Not included in that total was the death of a Florala woman who died shortly before Christmas in Crestview, Fla.

Janet L. Sims, 70, was traveling southbound when her car drifted onto the shoulder of the highway and crashed into a culvert on Florida State Road 85, about five miles north of

Sims was not wearing a seatbelt and died later at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Fla.