THP Joins Alabama for Hands Across the Border Enforcement

Nashville, Tennessee — The Tennessee Highway Patrol is teaming with the Alabama Highway Patrol and sheriff deputies from Madison County, Alabama, and Lincoln County, Tennessee, to send a strong message that officers from both states will be on the look-out for impaired drivers this weekend.  The agencies will hold a Hands Across the Border sobriety checkpoint on U.S. Highway 231, along the Alabama/Tennessee state line.  Prior to the checkpoint, partnering law enforcement agencies will hold a news conference at 7:30 p.m., at Hazel Green High School on U-S 231/431 North, 2 miles south of the Tennessee border in Madison County, Alabama.

The Hands Across the Border initiative creates an outstanding opportunity for law enforcement officers to work together to strictly enforce driving laws in a seamless effort from state-to-state.  This collaboration is aimed at saving lives during the busy summer travel season.

“The Tennessee Highway Patrol is proud to be working with the Alabama Highway Patrol and officers from Madison and Lincoln counties,” stated THP Colonel Mike Walker. “Our mission is to save lives and keep the roads safe.  We will always be more successful at that when we work as a team.”

Hands Across the Border marks the start of the nationwide annual enforcement campaign called “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”  Tennessee State Troopers will work with law enforcement officers from across the country during the initiative, which runs from August 13 through the Labor Day holiday.  During this enforcement effort, THP Troopers will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety and driver license checkpoints targeting impaired drivers and reduce roadway fatalities.

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

According to the Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 13,500 people were killed in 2006 in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a BAC of .08 or higher.  In all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.