The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department will partner with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to promote the fourth annual “Thumbs Down to Texting and Driving” campaign during April 2018. The campaign is geared toward promoting safe driving habits and increasing awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. “Texting and driving requires motorists to take their eyes off the road, hands off the steering wheel, and mind off the task of driving. This is a recipe for a crash, and that’s a scary thought. It’s 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 2017, there were 24,781 traffic crashes statewide in which distracted driving was a contributing factor, according to the Tennessee Integrated Traffic Analysis Network. Of those crashes, 120 involved fatalities.