{"id":8751,"date":"2014-07-03T04:00:28","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T09:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=8751"},"modified":"2014-07-02T17:22:09","modified_gmt":"2014-07-02T22:22:09","slug":"tennessee-highway-patrol-to-increase-visibility-during-fourth-of-july-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2014\/07\/03\/tennessee-highway-patrol-to-increase-visibility-during-fourth-of-july-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Highway Patrol to increase Visibility during Fourth of July Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TennesseeNashville, TN<\/strong> – The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) will conduct a high-visibility enforcement campaign during this year\u2019s Fourth of July holiday period, beginning at 12:01am on Thursday, July 3rd and ending at midnight on Sunday, July 6th.<\/p>\n

State troopers will utilize a variety of traffic safety tools, such as driver\u2019s license, sobriety and seat belt checkpoints, saturation patrols, and \u201cNo Refusal\u201d enforcement, in an effort to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways.<\/p>\n

\"Tennessee<\/a>

Tennessee Highway Patrolman on a traffic stop.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2013, 19 people were killed in 15 fatal crashes in Tennessee during the 102-hour holiday period. That\u2019s down from 21 vehicular fatalities during the 2012 Fourth of July period.<\/p>\n

Of the 19 traffic fatalities last year, five (26.3%) were alcohol-related and 13 (86.7%) were not wearing safety restraints, including one child passenger. One all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rider also died during the holiday period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge all Tennesseans and visitors traveling through our state to wear their seat belts,\u201d Colonel Tracy Trott said. \u201cState troopers will aggressively seek out violators of the seat belt law and those driving recklessly or distracted. It\u2019s our goal to get everyone to their destination safely,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

During the first six months of 2014, preliminary statistics show that 52 percent of traffic fatalities were unrestrained motorists and 77 vehicular deaths (17.5 %) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.<\/p>\n

Two counties in Middle Tennessee, specifically Bedford and Rutherford Counties, have been designated \u201cNo Refusal\u201d areas during the Fourth of July holiday period. \u201cNo Refusal\u201d permits law enforcement officials to seek search warrants for blood samples in cases involving suspected impaired drivers. THP District Captains have selected those counties based on an increase in crashes, DUI-related, injury or fatal.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our priorities as an agency is DUI enforcement,\u201d Colonel Trott said. \u201cThe collective goal is to keep drunk drivers off the road and reduce alcohol-related fatalities on state roadways. State troopers will work hard throughout the holiday period to keep the roads safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

State troopers arrested 132 individuals statewide on suspicion of impaired driving during last year\u2019s Fourth of July period.<\/p>\n

Highest Deaths<\/strong><\/p>\n

The highest number of deaths in a 102 \u2013 hour Fourth of July holiday period occurred in 1996, when 27 people were killed in traffic crashes in Tennessee, yielding a fatality rate of one death per three hours and 42 minutes.<\/p>\n

Lowest Deaths<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lowest number of deaths in a 96 \u2013 hour Fourth of July holiday period occurred in 2011, when 8 people were killed in traffic crashes in Tennessee, yielding a fatality rate of one death every 12 hours.<\/p>\n

Tennessee Highway Patrol Checkpoints<\/h3>\n

Fourth of July Driver License, Sobriety & Seat Belt Checkpoints<\/p>\n