The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department will be partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to promote the third annual “Thumbs Down to Texting and Driving” campaign in April. This month is recognized as Distracted Driver Awareness Month. Agencies participate in the campaign by promoting safe driving habits and increase awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. Throughout April, the THSO will use #ThumbsDownTn to promote the campaign via social media.

“Texting and driving requires motorists to take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and mind off the task of driving. This is a recipe for a crash, and that is a scary thought. It is arrogant and selfish to think that your dangerous and illegal behavior is acceptable. No one has the right to put another person’s life at risk like that,” said Cumberland County Sheriff Casey Cox.

In 2016, Tennessee saw its highest number of known distracted driving crashes at 24,743. Those crashes resulted in the deaths of 58 people. Across the state, 28 individuals are injured a day in a crash caused by texting and driving.

For more information or to learn more about texting and driving, visit www.tntrafficsafety.org/distracteddriving.