THP Joins Tri-State Traffic Safety Initiative

Nashville, Tennessee —The Tennessee Department of Safety and Tennessee Highway Patrol today announced an intensive joint initiative with Alabama and Mississippi to reduce traffic fatalities and save lives during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period. It is typically one of the busiest weekends for holiday travel.

The Tri-state initiative, “Take Back Our Highways,” will place all available law enforcement officers, including administrative members, on patrol duty during the intensive highway safety effort for the entire Thanksgiving week of November 19-25.

“The goal of this effort is saving lives,” said Governor Phil Bredesen.  “The safety of Tennesseans and those who travel through our state is paramount, and I urge all those traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday period to obey the laws designed to keep them safe.”

In announcing the safety enforcement initiative at joint news conferences in Nashville, Montgomery, AL, and Jackson, MS, Colonel Mike Walker stated, “The public can expect to see a marked increase in the number of law enforcement officers on the road and more citations issued for primary traffic violations.”  Walker added, “We believe the rigorous enforcement is worth the effort.”

Colonel J. Christopher Murphy, Director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, and Colonel Michael Berthay, Director of the Mississippi Highway Patrol, joined Colonel Walker during stops in Nashville, Montgomery and Jackson.

“Every time you get behind the wheel, you should buckle up, obey the speed limit and pay close attention to driving safely,” stressed Colonel Walker. “Refraining from drinking and driving is the first critical decision a driver should make to help prevent loss of life, serious injury and the high cost of being charged with DUI.”

Throughout the Thanksgiving week, Tennessee State Troopers and law enforcement officers in all three states will target primary driving behaviors that contribute to death and serious injury crashes.  These driving behaviors include speeding, DUI, driver inattention, following too closely and failure to yield.

In Tennessee, Troopers will maintain an enhanced presence, and officers with local sheriff and police agencies will also take part in the initiative.   During the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the combined enforcement campaign will impose several stepped-up measures to reduce crashes and fatalities, including increased visibility, saturation patrols, and sobriety and driver license checkpoints.  In conjunction with the Mississippi and Alabama Highway Patrols, THP will conduct sobriety checkpoints in counties that border the states as part of the increased holiday enforcement period.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will utilize Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) grant money to maximize enforcement efforts throughout the state.  Throughout the holiday weekend, sobriety and driver license checkpoints are scheduled at various times in the state’s eight THP districts.  Troopers will be looking for impaired and unlicensed drivers, speeding vehicles, and motorists not wearing seat belts.

Twenty people were killed in crashes on Tennessee roads during the Thanksgiving weekend of 2006, yielding a death rate of one death every five hours and six minutes.  That represents an increase from 17 fatalities in 2005 and 13 fatalities in 2004. There were 15 fatalities in 2003 and 17 in 2002.

During the 2006 holiday period, four (20 percent) of the fatalities occurred in alcohol-related crashes and 60 percent of the occupants in vehicle crashes were not wearing safety restraints.  In the 20 fatal crashes in 2006, three motorcyclists were killed, one ATV operator and one pedestrian.

On Wednesday, November 21, as part of the special enforcement during the Thanksgiving holiday period, Tennessee will once again take part in the nationwide law enforcement campaign called “Operation Care”.  The nationwide campaign will post a Trooper every ten miles the entire length of Interstate 40 from the east coast to the west coast.  Members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol will participate in the campaign from 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 21, until 1:00 a.m., Thursday, November 22.

The 2007 Thanksgiving holiday period begins at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 21, and runs through midnight Sunday, November 25. Statistics for 2006 are provided separately as a PDF file at this link.

Contacts:

Alabama Department of Public Safety
Public Information/Education
mearnhardt@dps.state.al.us
334-242-4445

Office of Public Affairs
Mississippi Department of Public Safety
wstrain@mdps.state.ms.us
601-987-1385