No one should have to suffer through the pain of losing a family member to a drunk driving accident. While there continue to be drunk drivers on Nashville roads and there continue to be fatal car accidents across Tennessee, the Tennessee Highway Patrol has recently announced that there has been an increase in drunk driving enforcement.
The colonel in charge of the Tennessee Highway Patrol has made it clear that driving under the influence, or DUI, enforcement will be a top priority for officers. Although he only recently made public his campaign to keep dangerous drunk drivers off the street, the colonel has also been able to report a 39 percent increase in drunk driving arrests in Tennessee. His actions have certainly paid off, too. There have been far fewer fatal traffic accidents on Tennessee roads since this time last year. There has been a 14 percent reduction in the number of traffic fatalities.
The new head of the Tennessee Highway Patrol has long been working to make DUI enforcement a higher priority. He told The Tennessean that he had previously been disappointed with the Patrol's efforts to combat DUI, but it wasn't until he took charge that things started to change. One of the biggest changes has been to increase the number of officers working after midnight, the most likely time to catch drunk drivers.
Drunk driving is extremely dangerous and can throw people's lives upside down. The decision to drive home after having one too many beers could lead to someone's early and tragic death. Taking that risk should come with harsh and severe consequences, and it seems that the colonel's new focus on DUI enforcement is providing the necessary threat to curb such dangerous behavior.