Local Law Enforcement Working 18 Hour Days this Weekend
LEXINGTON, Tenn. — Officers plan to make stop after stop Memorial Day weekend. Some officers with Lexington Police Department are working 18 hour days to make sure drivers are buckled and sober. Officer Robbie McCready said it is part of a state-wide Memorial Day weekend safety campaign. “We’re committed to enforcing traffic laws, enforcing seat belt laws, driving while impaired laws. People on the roadways make a choice. Based on their choice and decision-making process that’s where we fall in line. We’ll make a choice also,” he said. Officer McCready is just one of thousands of other officers across the state who will be spending the weekend on the road blue-lighting, writing tickets, and arresting drunk drivers. He said he averages five seat belt violations an hour but this weekend that number will spike. “Our goal is to save lives of those in Tennessee and its visitors. It’s very important to us. It’s much easier for us to see someone living and breathing than on the other side,” he said. He said pulling over drunk drivers is not something he does often, but he has spent countless hours learning how to quickly detect if a driver is under the influence. “There’s so many citizens on the roadway. In the amount of time we’ve been here I bet 100 cars have passed. That one drunk driver is taking a chance on every one of them,” Officer McCready said. He said just like many departments in Tennessee this weekend, they will have officers at every turn watching over drivers. “If you drink and drive, we will fine you. If you’re not buckled, we will fine you. Nothing personal, it’s the law,” he said. The state gave grants to local departments to help pay for officer’s overtime. The campaign lasts until midnight on Memorial Day. Law enforcement said expect to see sobriety checkpoints too.
