Cookeville PD Increasing Patrols For “Slow Down TN”

The Cookeville Police Department promoting “Slow Down Tennessee” in a two-week campaign starting Friday.

Traffic Division Captain Jeff Johnson said the department will conduct speed enforcement in areas where it plays a factor in accidents.

“Our main concern here at the Cookeville Police Department is the safety of our citizens and visitors that come to our area,” Johnson said. “A lot of accidents are caused by distracted speeding and others by speed, so this is just one step that we take to reduce the number of accidents.”

Johnson said the department also wants to focus on distracted driving. Johnson said people not paying attention to the road is the number one cause of accidents in Cookeville.

“Hands free, people eating and driving or just playing with the radio, anything can be a distraction,” Johnson said.

The campaign comes through the Tennessee Highway Safety Office. The statewide initiative tries to increase education, awareness and enforcement to reduce speeding-related crashes.

“We will also be conducting a sobriety checkpoint on April the 21st,” Johnson said. “We also do this for the safety of our citizens.”