Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen today announced traffic enforcement plans for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Special traffic enforcement efforts will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 26, 2006 and conclude at Midnight on Monday, May 29, 2006.

Chief Owen said the Memorial Day holiday weekend is considered the unofficial start of the summer vacation season. An estimated 37 million people will travel over the extended holiday weekend with 80% of those travelers driving to their destination.

To reduce the number of injury causing crashes, officers will be conducting Saturation and Directed Patrols throughout the eighty-hour holiday enforcement period. Officers will focus on drivers who are speeding, driving recklessly and motorists who are driving while impaired. Officers will also be focusing on drivers and passengers who are either unrestrained or improperly restrained. Members of the East District Patrol Division will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint Saturday night from 11:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. The checkpoint, which will be held on Chapman Highway near Young High Pike, will allow officers an opportunity to educate citizens on the dangers of drunk and drugged driving.

Chief Owen said, "We urge motorists to exercise patience wherever they may travel during this extended holiday weekend. If motorists would slow down and properly use their seatbelts, crashes resulting in serious injuries or even death could be prevented."

During the 2005 Memorial Day holiday enforcement campaign, officers issued 1267 citations. Officers also investigated 76 crashes with 18 of those resulting in injuries. The last fatality to be recorded during the Memorial Day holiday occurred in 2001.

Mayor Haslam said, "We want the holiday weekend to be safe for all residents and visitors traveling throughout our city. We urge everyone to slow down, buckle your seatbelt and above all, don't drink and drive."