THP announces Thanksgiving holiday I-40 saturation campaign

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will have an abundance of troopers on duty protecting and serving the public during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Monday, the Tennessee Department of Safety and the THP announced their participation in the seventh annual “I-40 Challenge” traffic safety initiative.
It consists of increased patrols from state police and highway patrols and local agencies along the I-40 corridor nationwide.
According to the state safety department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will assign troopers every 20 miles on Interstate 40 for 12-hour shifts on the busiest travel days of the weekend: Wednesday, Nov. 27, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m, and Sunday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“The loss of life is never easy, especially when that loss could have been avoided,” THP Col. Dereck R. Stewart said. “The pain remains for a lifetime. That is why I am making a commitment to increase our trooper presence not only on the I-40 corridor, but on all major Tennessee roadways. We encourage the public to make safe choices when traveling on our Tennessee roadways. Stay off your phone and don’t drive distracted, wear your seatbelt, and do not drive impaired.”
I-40 runs 2,555 miles through eight states including North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. I-40 runs through Tennessee encompassing 455 miles.
In 2018, there were 46 crashes on the Wednesday before and 55 crashes on the Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday on I-40. One crash was alcohol-related. During the holiday 120-hour holiday period, THP also issued 1,559 seat belt and child restraint device citations and arrested 111 motorists for impaired driving statewide.
During your travels across Tennessee, if you require highway assistance dial *847 (*THP). This will connect you to a THP dispatcher.