TPO Participates in Road Safety and Engineering Training

Eighteen officers from 12 different law enforcement agencies came together Aug. 27 and 28, 2019, in Knoxville to learn about road safety and engineering fundamentals. The training was organized by the Knoxville Regional TPO in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration and Bike Walk Tennessee. Its purpose was to give law enforcement officers tools to recognize and report road safety hazards, with the goal of preventing fatal and life-changing traffic crashes. The trainer, Craig Allred, is a longtime Federal Highway Administration employee with a law enforcement background. Craig emphasized the need for law enforcement officers to speak up when they see unsafe road conditions that may be remedied by engineers or other experts. Also attending the training were engineers from three local governments (Knoxville, Knox County and Oak Ridge), who expressed their interest in working more closely with law enforcement on safety issues. Other organizations who had staff attend are Bike Walk Tennessee, the Federal Highway Administration, the Knox County Health Department, the TPO, and the University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research. The following law enforcement agencies sent officers to the training:
  • Maryville Police Department
  • Alcoa Police Department
  • Blount County Sheriff’s Office
  • Jackson Police Department
  • Knox County Sheriff’s Office
  • Knoxville Police Department
  • Metro Nashville Police Department
  • Oak Ridge Police Department
  • Pigeon Forge Police Department
  • Pittman Center Police Department
  • Tennessee Highway Patrol
  • White Pine Police Department