TN.gov Newsroom

NASHVILLE --- Highway travel during the 2009 Thanksgiving Holiday week is expected to be heavy in the State of Tennessee as families pile into their cars and head off for holiday destinations. But there’s one sure recipe that can turn a joyful holiday into a tragedy-- failure to buckle up.   State Troopers will be patrolling Tennessee Interstates and highways looking for drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belt. The message to travelers: “Click it or Ticket”.   The 2009 Thanksgiving Holiday period begins at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 25^th and runs through midnight Sunday, November 29^th.

NASHVILLE--- State Senator Thelma Harper will join the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Monday, November 23, 2009, in delivering the “Between the Barrels” presentation to 400 high school students at Pearl Cohn High School in Nashville. The safe driving program, which is geared to students who are just learning to drive, aims to reduce the chances of being teens involved in a dangerous work zone crash.

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NASHVILLE --- Tony Barham, Special Programs Lieutenant in the Nashville District, has been promoted to Captain of the newly combined Special Programs Unit. Special Programs now consists of all Commercial Vehicle administrative functions (New Entrant, Pupil and Daycare Transportation Safety), Litter, Safety Education, D.A.R.E. and the Motorcycle Rider Education Program.

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS) has suspended Trooper Brent Gobbell for 15 days without pay and imposed mandatory diversity training as discipline for violation of the state’s computer use policy. The disciplinary action follows an internal investigation into dissemination of an inappropriate email that was forwarded on October 9, 2009, by Trooper Gobbell’s state email account to 787 users.

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will deliver the “Between the Barrels” presentation to 370 high school students at Wayne County High School, Friday, November 13, 2009. The safe driving program, which is geared to students who are just learning to drive, aims to reduce the chances of being teens involved in a dangerous work zone crash.

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will deliver the “Between the Barrels” presentation to 450 high school students at Summertown High School in Lawrence County, Tuesday, November 10, 2009. The safe driving program, which is geared to students who are just learning to drive, aims to reduce the chances of being teens involved in a dangerous work zone crash.

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will deliver the “Between the Barrels” presentation to 450 high school students at Montgomery Central High School in Montgomery County, Friday, November 6, 2009. The safe driving program, which is geared to students who are just learning to drive, aims to reduce the chances of being teens involved in a dangerous work zone crash.

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will deliver the “Between the Barrels” presentation to 400 high school students at Kenwood High School in Montgomery County, Wednesday, November 4, 2009. The safe driving program, which is geared to students who are just learning to drive, aims to reduce the chances of being teens involved in a dangerous work zone crash.

 

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Highway Patrol are working together to keep motorists informed about the closure of Interstate 40 near the North Carolina state line. In Tennessee, I-40 is closed in both directions at mile marker 451 (Waterville) due to a massive rock slide that buried the interstate at mile marker 2.6 in North Carolina just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, October 25, 2009. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has made an emergency declaration and is working aggressively to remove the rock from the roadway however it will be several months before the interstate is reopened. As a result, motorists are being detoured to I-81 and I-26.