CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Several law enforcement agencies including Tennessee Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and Clarksville Police Department (CPD) kicked off National Distracted Driving Awareness Month with a Joint Distracted Driving Enforcement Operation in Clarksville on April 5.
A van manned with law enforcement drove around the city of Clarksville looking for distracted drivers and other traffic violations. Once a violation was spotted, mobile law enforcement patrols were informed, vehicles were stopped, and citations issued.
Photos by Doug Burgess, Media Research Coordinator, TTU iCube
“Even though the main focus was to detect, deter, and raise awareness for distracted driving, the goal is always to reduce crashes and save lives,” CPD spokesman Jim Knoll said.
Most of the violations discovered that day were texting and seat belt violations.
There were 100 citations issued in a four hour time period:
Texting – 7
Seat belt – 66
Child restraint – 3
Simple Possession – 5
Other D.L. – 5
Insurance – 4
Light law – 2
Window tint – 1
Registration – 7
According to 2015 statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,477 people died and another 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes by drivers who were distracted because they were texting or using cell phones. Additionally, in 2015, there was an estimated 13,941 lives saved by the use of seat belts. If all passenger vehicle occupants had worn seat belts, an additional 2,804 could have been saved.