Tennessee Highway Patrol ups patrols along state highways

JACKSON, Tenn. — Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer.

While some are gearing up to hit the road, one law enforcement agency is increasing patrols this holiday weekend.

“We will certainly have all of our available personnel on the road this weekend, including the THP administrative staff. So we will have troopers out in force looking for violations, essentially just trying to keep the roads as safe as possible,” said Lt. Chris Hosick, with the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The highway patrol will be looking for violations like distracted driving, speeding, and of course impaired driving.

“Right now distracted driving is a huge part of what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get the distracted driving down. So folks with cellphones, please stay off your cellphones,” Hosick said.

THP increases their patrols depending on the amount of travel. Holidays like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Christmas and Thanksgiving usually mean more people behind the wheel.

“Our goal is for everyone when they leave home, to make it to their destination. And the goal of every trooper is to do enforcement, not in a punitive way, but in a way the makes the road safe so we can accomplish our goals,” Hosick said.

Before you buckle up to get to your family’s cookout or a day on the lake, make sure to have your full and undivided attention on the road.

“Distracted driving certainly, certainly a large number of crashes, and it’s very difficult a lot of times for us to put a quantitative number on that because folks are not going to generally tell you that they were distracted when their crash happens,” Hosick said.

The increased patrols begins Friday, May 27 at 6 p.m. and will end on Tuesday, May 31 at 5:59 a.m.

For a list of THP checkpoints, click here.

You can find more news from across the state here.