Tennessee Hopes to Curb Distracted Driving

Tennessee law enforcement officials have come together to cut down on distracted driving and the crashes and fatalities that result from it with a Tennessee Highway Safety Office initiative known as Operation Incognito, according to a report on WJHL.

From Nov. 13 through 17, police and other officials across the state will ride in large motor coach-style buses to get a bird's eye view of drivers using cells phones. When they spot a distracted driver, they'll communicate with officers in patrol cars who will pull over the motorist and issue a citation, reports WTVF.

A similar program this spring resulted in over 1,800 citations statewide.

In addition to curbing distracted driving on public roadways, a secondary focus will include saturation patrols at high-risk construction and utility maintenance zones in an effort to protect roadway workers, reports WJHL.

Through the program, the safety office plans to educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving as well as raise awareness of Tennessee's "move over" law for emergency vehicles.

State data shows that there have been nearly 208,000 distracted driving-related crashes across Tennessee since 2008, reports WTVF.