MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — Pump the brakes and put your phone down — that’s the message from officers conducting a traffic enforcement operation along Interstate 24.
All hands have been on deck to help the Tennessee Highway Patrol crack down on speeding, distracted driving, and reckless driving — that includes help from Murfreesboro Police.
“On Broad Street, we’ve gotten 87 [miles per hour] before, which is 55 zone,” Lieutenant Zach Ferrell with the Murfreesboro Police Department said. “I got one going 72 in a 45.”
Until midnight Friday, the THP and officers from several Middle Tennessee have targeted drivers who pose a risk to themselves or others along Interstate 24, which runs from Kentucky to Georgia.
“The moving violations that put drivers at risk — that’s what our priority is focused on,” THP Lieutenant Bill Miller said.
Ferrell added that officers have looked for aggressive behaviors on the road, including speeding, changing multiple lanes at a time and short following distances.
“The biggest part of saturation patrols is that we try and make contact with the drivers that are regularly in these areas during the times that we’re having these crashes,” Ferrell said.
According to data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in 2023, Davidson County had 138 traffic fatalities. Rutherford County saw 37. Ferrell said that speed and impaired driving are the top causes of deadly crashes in Murfreesboro.
“Please slow down,” Ferrell added.
