THP, Alabama & Mississippi Team Up To Take Back Our Highways

Nashville, Tennessee — The Tennessee Highway Patrol is teaming up with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and Alabama’s Department of Public Safety for an intensive joint initiative aimed at reducing traffic fatalities and increasing safety.  During the week of August 18-24, every available member of THP, including Colonel Mike Walker and his command staff, will be on patrol duty during the tri-state safety campaign, called “Take Back Our Highways.”

“Our goal is simple: save lives,” stated THP Colonel Mike Walker. “No matter what you drive – a car, pickup, SUV or motorcycle – if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you.  No exceptions.”

During the week-long enforcement period, THP will utilize all available manpower, including members of its Interdiction Plus teams and K-9 units, to target dangerous drivers on all roadways entering Tennessee from Alabama and Mississippi.  Troopers will also conduct sobriety and driver license checkpoints and saturation patrols, concentrating on areas prone to crashes.  They will target aggressive drivers, impaired drivers, speeders, and drivers who fail to buckle up.

Tennessee State Troopers participated in a similar “Take Back Our Highways” enforcement campaign with Mississippi and Alabama last year over the Thanksgiving holiday, and the number of fatal crashes during the long weekend dropped significantly.  In 2007, 13 people were killed on Tennessee roadways during the Thanksgiving holiday, compared with 20 fatalities the year before.

“There’s no denying those results.  This campaign is clearly working to save lives,” said Colonel Walker. “It has real results, and we are proud to join Alabama and Mississippi once again on this effort.”

This enhanced presence will continue through the end of the summer as THP participates in other safety initiatives, including a nation-wide campaign, “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”  This annual crack down began last week and runs through the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Seventeen people were killed on Tennessee roadways during the 2007 Labor Day holiday weekend. Of the 17 fatal crashes, 11 victims were not wearing a safety belt.  Seven of the fatalities occurred in alcohol-related crashes, up from six in 2006.