(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The Kentucky State Police is teaming up with law enforcement officials from the five other states along the Interstate 75 corridor—Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan—for part of “The I-75 Challenge” to save lives in 2014. The campaign is being conducted in support of a nationwide initiative by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to reduce traffic fatalities in the U.S. by 15 percent this year.
In order to focus on the most dangerous behaviors on the road, the I-75 Challenge will consist of four high-visibility enforcement weekends targeting impaired driving (March 28-30 and December 26-28), motorcycle safety (June 27-29), occupant protection (September 26-28), distracted driving, speeding and large-truck and bus safety. During these data-driven enforcement periods, increased numbers of law enforcement officials will be positioned along the 1,786-mile I-75 corridor, ready to crack down on drivers who choose to break the law.
Traffic crashes kill more than 33,000 people every year in America, and local law enforcement and highway safety officials agree that too many of those fatalities are happening on I-75. In 2011, more than half of the people killed in traffic crashes were NOT wearing seat belts; approximately 9,900 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes; 3,330 were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and nearly 10,000 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes. This campaign will use education, awareness and strict enforcement to remind all drivers along I-75 to drive safely and save lives.
“People need to be reminded,” says KSP Commissioner Rodney Brewer, “to obey the speed limit, drive sober, wear their seat belts, and put their phones away. Too many people are dying in senseless, preventable crashes on I-75. During the I-75 Challenge, we will show zero tolerance for unsafe driving. If we see you violating a life-saving traffic law, you will be stopped and ticketed or arrested. No excuses.”
The I-75 Challenge is being spearheaded by the Florida Highway Patrol and brings together state and local law enforcement from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. KSP is partnering with the IACP, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the Governors Highway Safety Association to implement combined highway safety law enforcement campaigns, like the “I-75 Challenge” which focus enforcement on multiple traffic safety laws at one time.
For more information on the I-75 Challenge, please visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov . #stayingaliveon75
