On Monday, the Tennessee Department of Transportation announced that state law enforcement will be out in full force from July 18-21 and again from July 25-28 to crack down on speeding, drunk and distracted drivers. In addition, law enforcement will also be on the lookout for drivers who are not wearing their seat belt.
In 2011, more than 700 people died in crashes in Tennessee. Twenty-seven percent of those fatalities were attributed to drunk driving and 23 percent were speed-related. Fifty-seven percent of the 700 were not wearing their seatbelt.
“We are putting more officers on the road to make clear there will be no tolerance for those who ignore basic safety laws on our highways,” said Richard Holt, Governor’s Highway Safety Office Law Enforcement Administrator. “Drivers need to know the risk is simply not worth it. You will be stopped, ticketed or arrested if we catch you driving while drunk or distracted, not wearing a seat belt or speeding.”
“Highway safety laws are in place for very good reasons, and ignoring or breaking them all too often leads to deadly consequences,” said Kendell Poole, Director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office. “Our high visibility enforcement during the More Cops. More Stops. campaign will hopefully help remind people to never drive drunk, always buckle up, to slow down, and to always pay attention to the road.”
Tennessee law enforcement has teamed with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to test the effectiveness of a combined highway safety law enforcement campaign, More Cops. More Stops, which focuses enforcement on multiple traffic safety laws.
For more information on the More Cops. More Stops campaign, please visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov or www.tntrafficsafety.org.