Police: Safety is key this holiday weekend
MILAN, Tenn. — As one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season begins, officers will be out in full force. They want you to know if you spot them with lights on in your rear view, they are only pulling you over to keep you and everyone else safe. In Milan, more than 40,000 cars pass through every day, and as even more make their way through this weekend officers said their goal is safety, not writing tickets. “People want to get where they’re going and they hope they don’t see any police on their way,” Sgt. Jesse Floyd with the Milan Police Department said. For Sgt. Floyd, the holidays mean he is on high alert, watching over the roads. “Distracted driving is a big thing I look for — cell phones, Bluetooth, radios,” Floyd said. “Try not to take your eyes off the road.” From speeding to forgetting a seat belt, officers said all this hustle and bustle of the holidays distracts a lot of people. “They’re getting off work and have a lot of prep for thanksgiving they’re trying to do,” Milan Police Chief Bobby Sellers said. “People just get in a hurry when they should be slowing down, taking a breath and paying attention to what they’re doing.” Seat belt violations are what Sgt. Floyd said he sees the most this time of year, and as fines are set to increase in 2016 he hopes the reminder might just save a life. “It’s not a big fine, it’s not going to break the bank,” Floyd said. “But hopefully it gets you to just think about it before you leave the house.” But whether you are in a parking lot or on the main road, Sgt. Floyd says to be aware of your surroundings during this holiday. “We’ll be out in force to make sure everyone is getting where they’re going safely, and hopefully we won’t have any accidents,” Floyd said. On Tuesday, Milan police said they responded to a number of wrecks within a few minutes of each other. Luckily they were only fender benders. As for seat belt violations, starting the first of the year, the state will be increasing fines for not wearing your seat belts. For a first offense it will increase from $10 to $20.
