Chattanooga-area officials remind drivers that distracted driving is ‘risky and dangerous’

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Aaron Loden, a law enforcement liaison with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, speaks at a news conference Monday about the Tennessee Highway Patrol's “Operation Hands Free" effort to reduce distracted driving. The news conference was held at the Tennessee Highway Patrol offices in Lookout Valley. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Aaron Loden, a law enforcement liaison with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, speaks at a news conference Monday about the Tennessee Highway Patrol's “Operation Hands Free" effort to reduce distracted driving. The news conference was held at the Tennessee Highway Patrol offices in Lookout Valley.

By Ellen Gerst April 1, 2024 2 min read

Twenty-three pairs of eyes peered out the windows of a CARTA bus riding down Highway 153 on Monday, scanning the road for distracted drivers.

They saw plenty of drivers with their hands properly at 10 and 2, a small dog hanging out a driver’s window, one man rushing to put his seat belt on and a woman looking down at her lap.

“She’s texting while driving!” multiple people on the bus, which carried several state and local law enforcement officers, yelled out, pointing to a gray sedan passing on the left.

At the front of the bus, Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Cecil Harvey called in the distracted driver on a handheld radio. A state trooper on a motorcycle pulled out from behind the bus and switched on his blue lights.