The Tennessee Highway Safety Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol joined local law enforcement for Tennessee’s third statewide bus tour to crack down on distracted driving from Monday, April 2 to Thursday, April 4.
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 Director 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.