Nashville, Tennessee --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol is working to reduce work zone construction crashes in the state with the help of a federal grant administered through the Governor's Highway Safety Office. Project CAR (Construction Accident Reduction) targets motorists who violate traffic laws while traveling through highway work zones when road workers are present.

Tennessee Department of Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips said, "It's our job to keep roads safe. Construction and maintenance work, while necessary, is dangerous for both workers and motorists. By increasing the presence of Troopers in work zones while improvements are being made we hope to remind everyone how important it is to drive carefully, and to watch out for workers and other motorists."

Goals of Project Car, which runs through September 30, include

• Increasing visibility and enforcement in assigned zones
• Providing assistance to stranded motorists
• Maintaining an active patrol of the entire work zone
• Aggressively enforcing safety belt and child passenger restraint laws

Efforts are being concentrated on factors which have been identified as causes of previous work zone crashes.

THP actively participates in National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week each year. During this year's observance, Troopers issued 5,139 citations and 89 warnings to motorists in work zones. There were 2,346 citations for hazardous moving violations and 2,793 for non-moving violations. Troopers assisted 483 stranded motorists during the period. There were 215 commercial vehicle driver and vehicle inspections conducted, with nine vehicles and 11 drivers placed out-of-service. More than 130,000 miles were driven by Troopers in and around work zones during the week.

THP continues the enforcement of work zones through Project CAR. A total 6,975 man-hours was dedicated to enforcement in and around work zones across the state. This is the equivalent of 125 Troopers per day (average) assigned to patrol work zones.

A chart detailing Hazardous Moving Violation (HMV) citations written appears below:

 

Speeding	2,107
Driving Under the Influence	26
Following Too Closely	20
Failure to Yield	19
Improper Passing	34
Reckless Driving	25
Disregarding Signal/Sign Controls	46
Improper Turns	4
Other Moving Violations	63

 

Non-Moving Violations (NMVs) citations written consisted of:

 

Child Passenger Restraint Violations	80
Safety Belt Violations by 16-17 year olds	21
Safety Belt Violations by Persons 18 & Older	669
Driver License Law Violations	376
Revoked Driver Licenses	81
Registration Violations	444
Misdemeanor Drug Violations	10
Felony Drug Violations	6
Open Container Law Violations	9
Other Non-Moving Violations	1,107

 

The Tennessee Department of Safety's mission is (www.tn.gov/safety) to ensure the safety and general welfare of the public. The department encompasses the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and Driver License Services. General areas of responsibility include law enforcement, safety education, motorist services and terrorism prevention.