Campaign Aims to Save Lives on Tennessee Roadways
Nashville, TN – Law enforcement across the state will be out in force from July 18th to July 21st and from July 25th to July 28th for the final phase of the More Cops. More Stops. campaign to crack down on drivers who are speeding, drunk, distracted, or not wearing a seat belt.
Too many lives have been lost on Tennessee’s roadways as a result of basic traffic safety law violations.
Fifty-seven percent of those who died were NOT wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.
“We are putting more officers on the road to make clear there will be no tolerance for those who ignore basic safety laws on our highways,” said Richard Holt, Governor’s Highway Safety Office Law Enforcement Administrator. “Drivers need to know the risk is simply not worth it. You will be stopped, ticketed or arrested if we catch you driving while drunk or distracted, not wearing a seat belt or speeding.”
Nighttime is especially deadly because it is the time when more people fail to do the single most effective thing to save their life in a crash— wear a seat belt.
In the U.S. in 2011, 62 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in nighttime (6:00pm to 5:59am) traffic crashes were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, compared to 43 percent of unbelted people who were killed in daytime crashes.
“Highway safety laws are in place for very good reasons, and ignoring or breaking them all too often leads to deadly consequences,” said Kendell Poole, Director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office. “Our high visibility enforcement during the More Cops. More Stops. campaign will hopefully help remind people to never drive drunk, always buckle up, to slow down, and to always pay attention to the road.”
Tennessee law enforcement has teamed with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to test the effectiveness of a combined highway safety law enforcement campaign, More Cops. More Stops, which focuses enforcement on multiple traffic safety laws.
For more information on the More Cops. More Stops campaign, please visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov or www.tntrafficsafety.org.
