FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
CONTACT:
Arriale Tabson, 615-767-3242
Tennessee’s Third Statewide Distracted Driving Enforcement Bus Tour Yielded 1,816 Citations
TENNESSEE – From Monday, April 2, to Thursday, April 5, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) joined local law enforcement for Tennessee’s third statewide bus tour to crack down on distracted driving. View photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nhd1asu4RkgHEWHL2. Video footage can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/7Dg9u0sx7Xk.
Last year, the THP provided two large, black and tan buses marked with THP logos to help promote awareness for the initiative. This year, the focus shifted toward the effectiveness of enforcement efforts, which meant utilizing additional passenger vehicles capable of traveling more efficiently on the highways. These vehicles were provided by the THP, Knoxville Police Department, and Memphis Police Department.
“We received overwhelming support from law enforcement across the state,” said THSO Director Vic Donoho. “This proves there is no limit to the number of lives we can save, when we all work together.”
Officers representing various agencies riding the passenger vehicles communicated with ground units after observing traffic violations to initiate the execution of enforcement action. Depending on available resources, enforcement lasted between two to eight hours each day.
“Many sheriffs’ offices and police departments adopted the bus tour concept and made it their own,” said Donoho. “They worked among themselves to execute enforcement independently within their jurisdictions during the week of the bus tour. This included agencies in Montgomery County, Rutherford County, and Sumner County. We are extremely grateful for everyone’s hard work and participation.”
In October 2017, Tennessee’s second bus tour yielded 905 total traffic citations statewide. During the third bus tour, officers issued a total of 1,816 citations statewide. For more information, please contact Arriale Tabson at arriale.tabson@tn.gov.
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Note: The total number of citations includes additional violations discovered during the traffic stops.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security advocating for traffic safety. The THSO works in tandem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement statewide programs addressing occupant protection, impaired driving, speed enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and crash data collection and analysis. Programs administered by the THSO are 100 percent federally funded. The THSO’s mission is to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate these programs. To learn more, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.
