The Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office announced the winners of the 11th Annual Law Enforcement Challenge on Thursday. This year’s award winners were recognized on a state level, and two agencies also received national recognition. The Chattanooga Police Department received the Impaired Driving Awareness Award.
The Law Enforcement Challenge is an annual competition designed to recognize and reward the best overall traffic safety programs across the state. Similar sizes and types of agencies are judged on their local efforts to enforce laws and educate the public about impaired driving, speeding, and occupant protection. The winning safety programs combine officer training, public information, and enforcement to reduce crashes and injuries within their jurisdictions. To receive national recognition, agencies participated in the International Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Challenge.
“This goes far beyond which agency issued the most citations,” said Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer. “These departments have identified specific traffic safety issues in their community, addressed those issues in innovative ways, and are now being thanked and awarded for their success.”
Qualifying agencies were eligible to win a fully equipped police vehicle. This year’s vehicle winner was the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Agencies that participated in the S.A.F.E. (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) campaign were eligible for two additional fully equipped police vehicles. The winners of the S.A.F.E vehicles were the Hickman County Sheriff’s Office and the Sewanee Police Department.
“Over the last decade, we have seen the number of traffic fatalities in Tennessee reduce by over a third,” said Governor’s Highway Safety Office Director Kendell Poole. “It is an honor to recognize the agencies that work on the front lines of traffic safety. We appreciate their tireless efforts to assure that motorists arrive at their destinations safely.”
A list of state and national winners can be found here: http://tntrafficsafety.org/sites/default/files/2015_winners.pdf