THP Joins North Carolina Operation Road Watch

Nashville, Tennessee — Beginning this morning, the Tennessee Highway Patrol is teaming up with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to conduct Operation Road Watch, a 48-hour enforcement period aimed at dangerous drivers in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.  Operation Road Watch is being conducted on I-26 in Unicoi, Washington and Carter counties for the next two days and is focusing on conducting safety inspections on motor carrier vehicles, aggressive drivers, excessive speed and DUI enforcement. The partnership was announced this morning at 11:30 a.m., at a news conference at the I-26 Welcome Center located just inside the North Carolina border.

“Last year, commercial vehicles were involved in more than 9,800 crashes on Tennessee highways, and 101 of those were fatal,” stated Col. Mike Walker. “Our job is to keep the roadways safe, and I am confident that this regional effort will send a strong message that we will not tolerate unsafe vehicles or drivers on our highways.”

“Almost all facets of the THP will be deployed in Operation Road Watch, such as K-9’s, aviation, interdiction plus patrols, commercial vehicle inspections, portable scales to perform weight inspections and equipment to detect radioactive materials,” stated Lieutenant Colonel Tracy Trott, Commander of the THP eastern bureau.

There are more than 206,000 valid commercial driver license holders in Tennessee.  During this two day campaign, Tennessee and North Carolina State Troopers will also target motorists who drive aggressively around big trucks and ticket speeders, tailgaters, and aggressive drivers.  Thirty-five Tennessee State Troopers will be participating in the initiative.

“Although Operation Road Watch concentrates on commercial vehicles, the THP is taking an
all-crimes approach,” stressed Lt. Col Trott.  “Tennessee Troopers will be looking for any traffic violation and criminal activity on I-26 in eastern Tennessee.”

Operation Road Watch marks the start of another campaign called “Drunk Driving, Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” From August 15 through the Labor Day holiday, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will join law enforcement agencies from across the country to crackdown on impaired driving.  Troopers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols to get impaired drivers off the road.