thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

From Staff Reports

The Blount County Sheriff"s Office has been named Law Enforcement Department of the Year by MADD Tennessee.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Tennessee announced the honor during a presentation of the organization's inaugural Excellence Awards.

A MADD spokesman said the awards are given to honor those people "who have worked tirelessly to stop impaired driving, through dedication, activism, and collaboration."

The award to the Blount County Sheriff's Office was presented "for an outstanding record in the area of DUI enforcement."

According to MADD, the Blount County Sheriff's Office "has set the standard for traffic enforcement units across the state. This department has made highway safety its top priority."

Through a grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Office, the Blount County Sheriff's Office created a Traffic Safety Unit made up of six selected officers qualified in accident reconstruction and traffic enforcement strategies. They are all Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) instructor level officers.

The Traffic Safety Unit is solely dedicated to traffic and DUI enforcement. The unit's officers are equipped with distinctive black patrol cars and the latest innovative enforcement equipment.

The unit's records show the unit's officers conducted approximately 4,000 traffic stops last year resulting in more than 3,400 citations, arrests and warning citations. Many of the arrests were for DUI. In addition, the unit's officers worked approximately 700 traffic accidents. The unit also conducts at least one checkpoint or saturation enforcement each month in the community.

The Blount County Traffic Safety officers visit area schools to educate students about the dangers of underage drinking as well as drinking and driving. The students drive golf carts through traffic cones while wearing Fatal Vision Goggles, specially designed eyewear that distorts vision in the same manner alcohol does. Students seem to enjoy the exercise designed to teach what can happen if they drink and drive.

According to MADD, "this department has taken the extra steps necessary to ensuring the safety of their community through precision, education and effective pro-active enforcement."

The award was accepted by members of the Traffic Safety Unit who traveled to Nashville for the presentation.

MADD Tennessee Awards of Excellence were also presented to winners in the following categories:

* Law Enforcement Individual of the Year -- Lt. Bill Carney, Clarksville Police Department; MADD Tennessee Chapter of the Year -- MADD Shelby County; Legislator of the Year -- Senator Rusty Crowe and Representative Jerome Cochran; Media Outlet of the Year -- Memphis' News Channel 3; Youth Advocate of the Year -- Khrystin Oldham of Stewart County; Business of the Year -- Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 2, Knoxville; District Attorney of the Year -- Attorney General William Gibson, 13th Judicial District; and Judge of the Year -- Judge James Webb, Gibson County.

"All of us share in the goal of MADD's mission to save lives, and we are so proud to recognize these individuals in the work and innovative ideas put into practice. Let's continue to make changes in order to bring safety and keep families whole in the state of Tennessee!" said Linda Rothwell, MADD Tennessee State Chair.

Nancy Denning, MADD Tennessee Executive Director said, "471 people in the state of Tennessee died last year in alcohol-related fatalities -- all of which were 100 percent preventable. MADD Tennessee promises that we will keep fighting until senseless injury and death on our roadways is eradicated."

MADD was founded in 1980. Since its inception, the organization has reduced the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities by 33 percent and has been instrumental in passing over 2,300 impaired-driving prevention laws. The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to stop drunk driving, to support the victims of this violent crime and to prevent underage drinking.