The Tennessee Highway Safety Office recently announced an initiative beginning November 13, 2018, and ending November 17, 2018, to help curb distracted driving. The initiative will have officers riding in unmarked motor coach-style buses along Tennessee Highways. From these coaches, the police will look for drivers using their phones or being distracted. They will identify such drivers then radio other police to issue citations to these distracted drivers. The Tennessee Highway Safety Office announced this via a press release and on Twitter.
Distracted Driving is a Serious Problem in Tennessee
Since 2008, there have been 23,092 distracted river-related crashes in Davidson County and another 11,342 such crashes in Rutherford County. As we have discussed in previous blogs, the rate of distracted driver crashes has dramatically risen in Middle Tennessee especially as the population has expanded. In April 2018, a similar operation was launched and 1,816 citations were handed out throughout Tennessee. It will be interesting to see how many citations are handed out this time.
Distracted driving is a huge problem in Tennessee. The government is taking the initiative to help keep our roads safe and to raise awareness. Ultimately, it is up to each and every one of us to resist the temptation to use our mobile devices when driving. As the numbers show, distracted driving is a big issue that needs to be addressed. Think of how many accidents could be avoided entirely if these distractions were removed.
