(UPDATED) MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —  On Good Friday (04/15/22), the Rutherford Co. Traffic Safety Task Force spent a good part of their day on South Church Street, which turns into the Shelbyville Highway as motorist pass the Joe B. Jackson Parkway interchange.

Thirty-two drivers were cited for speeding and 30 drivers were cited for using cell phones during a Good Friday traffic saturation sponsored by the Rutherford County Traffic Safety Task Force.

Murfreesboro Police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol focused on moving violations on South Church Street and U.S. Highway 231 South (Shelbyville Highway), said Murfreesboro Police Lt. Greg Walker.

“During the times of the event (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), there were zero crashes on the stretch of Church Street we were saturating,” Walker said. “We are hoping that is a result of the increased patrols in the area and that more drivers were paying attention to their speed, staying off the phone and obeying traffic control devices.”

Here are the total numbers:

• Speeding - 32
• Hands-free - 30
• Child Restraint - 1
• No Seatbelt - 19
• Running Red Light - 12
• Failure to Yield - 2
• Move Over Violation - 1
• Improper Turn - 1
• No Driver’s License - 4
• Driving on Suspended - 1
• Registration Violation - 13
• No Insurance - 10
• Light Law (Equipment) - 2

Total = 128

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Previous News Story

Drivers were asked to use caution, concentrate on safe driving skills during the Easter holiday weekend by the Rutherford County Traffic Safety Task Force, said Murfreesboro Police Lt. Greg Walker.

Task force officers encouraged safer driving during an extra enforcement event from 9:00 Friday morning and all the way up to 5:00 Friday evening. Additional patrol cars, both marked and unmarked, were evident on Good Friday along Highway 231 South (Shelbyville Highway).

“We are still experiencing a lot of crashes on South Church Street and Shelbyville Highway,” Walker said.  Most of the crashes on South Church Street take place between the Warrior Drive intersection (headed south) and Rucker Road towards Christiana, according to Walker. 

One of the goals of the Traffic Safety Force was to saturate the South Church Street area on Good Friday to reduce crashes and target hazardous moving violations, which they did.

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Continued - South Church Street Patrol...

Those involved in the additional enforcement included not only the Murfreesboro Police Department, but also the Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway.

Law enforcement officers throughout Rutherford County are participating in the Tennessee Highway Safety Office’s “Slow Down Tennessee” campaign that started on Friday and runs up to April 29th. The primary goal is to remind drivers to obey speed limit laws.

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office reports speed is a contributing factor in approximately 26 percent of all traffic fatalities in America.

“Slow Down Tennessee” is a campaign led by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office to reduce speeding-related crashes, injuries and fatalities.