The department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to promote “Slow Down Tennessee” and is planning three speed enforcement blitzes. The blitzes are an effort to bring awareness and help reduce speeding-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities. In the blitz, multiple officers will be assigned explicitly to roadways, where speeding-related crashes have led to injuries and deaths, in a visible effort to encourage safe driving.
Crashes have jumped significantly in Mt. Juliet during 2021, and the numbers have already exceeded previous years’ data.
Crash Data:
- 2017 – 837 (Entire Year)
- 2018 – 797 (Entire Year)
- 2019 – 678 (Entire Year)
- 2020 – 805 (Entire Year)
- 2021 – 936 (10 Months)
At this rate, it is evident that Mt. Juliet will exceed over 1,000 crashes in a year, which is a first for the community. While most of the crash data increase is related to distracted drivers, speeding has played a role in severe injuries and death crashes.
“While these traffic enforcement blitzes are extra enforcement, Mt. Juliet’s police officers already stop, on average, 175 motorists a week and issue a citation 50% of the time,” stated Chief James Hambrick. “As a police department, we would much rather not be placed in a position to stop someone for driving unsafe, and we are not going to enforce or cite our way to safer roadways alone. It is my hope everyone takes steps to ensure they are driving safely by not driving distracted or speeding so we can reduce the number of crashes in our community.”
The speeding enforcement blitzes are scheduled for Friday, October 15, Thursday, October 21, and Tuesday, October 26.
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It’s about time. although it will probably work as well as the no littering campaign.