Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen today announced traffic enforcement plans for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The holiday enforcement effort will begin on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. and will conclude at Midnight on Sunday, November 30, 2008.

Chief Owen said officers will work to reduce the number of crashes during the holiday period by seeking out motorists who are speeding, driving recklessly, or who are driving while impaired. This enforcement effort will be targeted to areas along the interstates as well as the major arterial roadways throughout the city. During the 2007 Thanksgiving holiday enforcement operation, officers investigated 95 vehicle crashes. Sixteen of those crashes involved injury, but no fatality was recorded during this time.

Officers also issued 961 driving related citations. Officers investigated 110 motorists who were caught either driving without a license or driving on a revoked or suspended license.

Chief Owen said, "With the recent reduction in gas prices, more people are now making plans to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This means an increase in travelers anxious to get to their final destination. To help them arrive safely, motorists need to slow down, buckle their safety belt, and do not drive recklessly." 

Major shopping centers will see a tremendous amount of traffic on Friday and Saturday as the Christmas shopping season officially begins. The increase in traffic will be especially heavy early Friday morning. Motorists should expect delays and congestion near the shopping areas.

Chief Owen said, "Through our enforcement efforts, our officers hope to make the streets of Knoxville as safe as possible over the holiday weekend just as they do every single day of the year."
 
"We urge everyone to buckle up, slow down and above all, don't drink and drive," Chief Owen concluded.