On Wednesday, April 1, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), divisions of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, partnered with Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), local law enforcement, and other traffic safety partners for “Operation Hands Free” to crack down on violators of Tennessee’s Hands-Free Law during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. To kick off the campaign, the THSO hosted press events in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville followed by distracted driving enforcement bus tours.
“Eight people died last year to date from crashes involving distracted driving in Tennessee,” said THSO Director Buddy Lewis. “So far this year to date, six people have died from distracted driving crashes. Tennessee experiences thousands of distracted driving crashes each year. Our goal is to help spread awareness and prevent future tragedies on Tennessee roadways.”
During each bus tour, troopers and officers inside the bus observed traffic for distracted drivers then radioed patrol vehicles to execute enforcement action. TDOT assisted by providing HELP trucks for traffic management. They also utilized the digital highway message boards to remind drivers that Tennessee is hands-free…