FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Contact: Arriale Tabson
Office: 615-253-5152
Tennessee Highway Safety Office Asks Roadway Users to Help Put the Brakes on Fatalities
Tennessee Faces 778 Lives Lost to Fatal Traffic Crashes
TENNESSEE – On October 10, 2016, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), and local partners held a press event at THP’s Knoxville Headquarters to promote the state’s first “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day.”
Tennessee participated in this nationwide awareness campaign by asking roadway users to exercise all aspects of traffic safety in order to help prevent fatal traffic crashes. THSO’s East Tennessee Law Enforcement Liaison Steve Dillard hosted the press event and introduced “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day.” Speakers included Colonel Tracey Trott of Tennessee Highway Patrol, Chief David Rausch of Knoxville Police Department, and Stephanie Milani, Director of Public Affairs for AAA’s Auto Club Group.
“Yesterday, our hope was to spend one day without a single traffic-related death,” said Dillard. “Unfortunately, we’re facing more preventable tragedies. Our thoughts and prayers go out to families of the 778 lives lost on our roadways this year. It is our mission to educate as many people as possible to prevent heartaches like this.”
Video footage of the press event is located here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHAJy4XEAaM.
Photos of the press event are located here: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN_vqCWhcELvMTpWBX4tVx7nALiw6CS027iZPtQCdafjkRxFjbqrcUpXZ_ILrU7WQ?key=REljT3NEY293TmRucWZTLTNWOTVOOVF2dFJWcDBB.
Access THSO’s social media here: facebook.com/tnhso | twitter.com/tnhso | instagram.com/tnhso.
Learn more about “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day” at www.asce.org/brakesonfatalities. Access Tennessee traffic crash data compiled by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s TITAN Division at www.tn.gov/safety/article/crashdata. For more information, contact Arriale Tabson at arriale.tabson@tn.gov.
About the Tennessee Highway Safety Office:
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) is Tennessee's advocate for traffic safety. THSO works in tandem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement statewide programs addressing occupant protection, impaired driving, speed enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and crash data collection and analysis. Programs administered by THSO are 100 percent federally funded. THSO’s mission is to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate these programs. To learn more about THSO, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.