KPD e-News Release: K.P.D. Announces Annual “Summer of Safety” Traffic Enforcement Campaign

NEWS RELEASE

	Kingsport Police Department Dale Phipps, Chief of Police 200 Shelby Street • Kingsport, TN 37660 http://KingsportTN.gov/City-Services/Police-Department • www.KingsportPDBlog.com
NEWS RELEASE
SUBJECT:		K.P.D. Announces Annual “Summer of Safety” Traffic Enforcement Campaign
DATE:		July 6, 2022

GENERAL NARRATIVE
The Kingsport Police Department is once again announcing its annual “Summer of Safety” traffic enforcement campaign. This initiative is necessitated by, and in response to, our own observations as well as numerous citizen expressed complaints and concerns regarding an increase in the more egregious traffic violations that both disturb the peace and threaten public safety. From July 1 – September 30, 2022 all members of the Kingsport Police Department will be significantly increasing their enforcement efforts to address these violations, and focus on reducing and discouraging their occurrence, with a mission of minimizing crashes and the resultant injuries and fatalities. Some of the violations that K.P.D. will be prioritizing include but are not necessarily limited to: · Driving Under the Influence · Reckless Driving · Drag Racing · Aggressive Driving and Road Rage · Texting, Hands-Free Violations, and Other Forms of Distracted Driving · Excessive Speed · Child Restraint and Seat Belt Violations · Safety Equipment Violations · Excessive Noise (especially extremely loud modified exhaust systems) · Exhaust Systems Deliberately Modified to Blow Excessive Smoke While committing some of these violations will result in a simple (but costly) citation being issued to the offender, others could easily lead to jail confinement with expensive fines, court costs, and attorney fees. And while some may find these penalties harsh, if any one of these violations were left unchecked, the alternative could easily be a serious crash with critical injuries or lives lost. “Our ultimate goal is simple – for the sake of the safety of our city’s motoring public, we expect compliance with the traffic laws and ordinances of the State of Tennessee and the City of Kingsport. Anything less is unsafe and unacceptable,” said Dale Phipps, Chief of Police. “We owe this to the citizens of this great city, whom we have a sworn duty to protect and serve.”