Traffic deaths in the Cumberland region increased in the last yearCounty 2009/ 2010McMinn 11/ 20Meigs 9/ 10Rhea 4/ 7Source: Governor’s Highway Safety Office
An increase in traffic deaths across the Cumberland region led to a safety crackdown on three of the deadliest highways in the area.
In the last year, Rhea, Meigs and McMinn counties have had a spike in traffic deaths, which caused the Governor’s Highway Safety Office to highlight state Highways 68 and 30 and U.S. Highway 27 for a safety push, officials said.
For the past three years, the department focused on U.S. Highway 127 and state Highway 111 during the New Year holiday weekend, but officials switched this year after noticing an increase in deaths on the other highways, said Clint Shrum, liaison for the Governor’s Highway Safety Office.
“We know it’s a combination of impaired driving, speeding and careless driving,” said Shrum. “[But] the biggest thing we’re worried about now is people not wearing their seat belts.”
Along the targeted highways, many areas are rural and drivers are traveling short distances, Shrum said. Drivers don’t feel they have to wear a seat belt, he said.
On Friday at noon, state and local authorities are setting up checkpoints and conducting extra patrols on the selected highways and will continue through Sunday, he said.
Traffic fatalities in McMinn County increased from 11 in 2009 to 20 in 2010, and Rhea had an increase from four deaths to seven, reports show. Meigs had a slight increase from nine to 10 deaths.
The Rhea County Sheriff’s Office has been working with the state to focus more manpower on Highway 68, where traffic has increased since the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant brought in thousands of construction workers to finish the Unit 2 nuclear reactor, Chief Deputy John Argo said.
With more than 3,000 cars coming in and out the plant’s entrance this year compared with several hundred in the past, traffic accidents have increased, he said.
The law enforcement agencies partnering with the highway safety office also receive $5,000 to $25,000 in grants for traffic safety throughout the year, Shrum said. The funding goes toward overtime and equipment, he said.
Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick at jlukachick@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/jlukachick.