Putnam County Roads See An Increase In Accidents Over the Last Few Months

A morning accident on Cookeville’s Highway 111 Monday bottlenecked traffic, something that has increasingly become a part of Putnam County’s morning routine.

Sheriff Eddie Farris said the county has seen an increase in accidents over the last several months. Farris said increased population, speeding, construction, and driver distraction are all factors.

“The roadways are being really pushed to their limits just on the citizens that live here in Putnam county for the road structure we have here in this county, and then we add another minimum 10,000 a day, people coming into our county,” Farris said. “It really pushes the limits on our roads.”

Farris said those 10,000-daily visitors to Putnam County are not as familiar with the roads as locals and this lack of familiarity causes more accidents.

“The amount of traffic we are dealing with in Putnam County now is quite a bit more than we had in the past,” Farris said. “I think people are just unfamiliar with a lot of our roads and systems. Going into the medium and crossing and turning, people are trying to take chances they shouldn’t take, and it results in an accident.”

Farris said he thinks the second biggest factor in these accidents is speeding. He said the Sheriff’s Department are watching high-traffic roads for speeding, but they cannot be there all the time.

“People are just getting in too big of a hurry,” Farris said. “As Sheriff, I would say please try to leave earlier. Sooner than one would think you need to and just take your time. Just don’t take any chances. Its not worth it.”

Farris said another factor was distracted drivers.

“Now you got people driving, they are talking on the phone, texting, got there radio going,” Farris said. “It seems like we have a lot of distractions inside the vehicle,and traffic itself is more complex today due to the amount of traffic. Its a combination of everything, but distracted driving is definitely a part of it.”

As for the Monday morning accident, it came at the Old Sparta Road/South Maple Avenue intersection across Highway 111. Farris said traffic lights should be considered by the state at that crossing.

“I’m sure that particular intersection right there, if its not already, will certainly get some attention from the state about the amount of traffic to and from there and obviously the accidents play a role in perusing a traffic light as well,” Farris said “Hopefully we can get there without anymore injuries.”

Farris said driving under the influence was also a big contributor to accidents. Farris said he wanted to encourage anyone who would be on Putnam County roads to drive safe, take your time, and to not take unnecessary risks.