Skip to main content

City achieves zero fatality 25-year milestone

For the first time in 25 years, no deaths occurred as the result of a traffic crash in Jackson, Tennessee, the city announced at a news conference yesterday.
February 2, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

For the first time in 25 years, no deaths occurred as the result of a traffic crash in Jackson, Tennessee, the city announced at a news conference yesterday. In 2006, the year the Jackson Police Department began using 17 American Traffic Solutions’ (ATS) technology-based systems to enforce traffic laws, 12 people were killed. In 2007 the number was reduced by half to six and halved again to three in 2008. Last year there were no fatalities due to traffic collisions.

According to Police Chief, Gill Kendrick, “The Jackson Police Department would like very much to offer both thanks and congratulations to the people of Jackson on this accomplishment. Certainly the red-light cameras and the speed van are not entirely responsible for the decrease. It takes the support of Judge Blake Anderson, who has made safer roadways a priority at City Court. It takes the work done by the engineering department, which has made improvements to roadways that enhance safety. Mostly, it takes the efforts of drivers to be more cognisant of safety each and every time they get in a vehicle.”

Kendrick continued, “People sometimes criticise the red-light cameras and speed van. Please keep in mind that we are not asking citizens to do anything new. We are just asking citizens to stop at red lights and obey the speed limit. Those who simply obey the traffic laws will never participate in the photo safety programme. To ensure the safety of the citizens of Jackson, the officers of the Jackson Police Department will continue their intensive efforts to remove impaired drivers from the roadways. Because speeding, running red lights and non-compliance with the safety belt and child restraint laws place people in danger, these laws will continue to be vigorously enforced as well.”

ATS has been serving the City of Jackson with intersection safety cameras since July 2006. The speed van was added in September 2009. Red-light cameras are located at four intersections in the city while the van deploys at different locations throughout the city to discourage drivers from speeding.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Idris paves the way for loop based speed enforcement
    February 1, 2012
    With the Idris system now validated as a speed verification tool, the way is open for loops to be used in more complex enforcement applications. Diamond Consulting Services (DCS), developer of the Idris inductive loop-based vehicle detection and classification system, has recently successfully conducted validation trials which, the company says, open the way for Idris to be used for speed verification and loop-based sensors to be used for more complex applications such as speed-on-green and differential spe
  • Make Thanksgiving roads safe: GHSA
    November 22, 2022
    Grants given to four states to avoid holiday season road fatalities - with help from Lyft
  • Positive incentives an alternative to road user charging?
    February 1, 2012
    The Netherlands has been looking at incentivising rush-hour avoidance. The intention is to better understand road users' motivations and find alternatives to congestion charging. Something significant needs to happen if we are to adequately address the traffic congestion and other issues caused by the ever-rising numbers of vehicles on our roads. Congestion or distance-based charging is seen as one way of managing demand and raising revenue for improvements to transport infrastructure. However, charging is
  • ITS technology reduces congestion, improves workzone safety
    July 17, 2012
    As the road-building season gets under way in the US, the Federal Highway Administration has just published a White Paper which deals with the use of ITS technology in work zones. On 30 April 2009, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a White Paper which was prepared by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to inform public agencies about the use of ITS to manage construction work zones. This is a particularly relevant topic given the large number of construction projects that are ex