CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -
Ft. Campbell Boulevard is a busy thoroughfare in Clarksville, and it's about to get busier.
This weekend, Clarksville police are upping enforcement to bring down the number of crashes happening on the boulevard, also known as 41A.
"We're going to have approximately 10 officers extra from the traffic unit," Clarksville police traffic Lt. Phillip Ashby said, adding, "Plus, the district is going to have their patrol officers step up enforcement here."
Ft. Campbell Boulevard is one of the main arteries through Clarksville, near the Ft. Campbell Army Post, stretching from Riverside Drive to the state line.
Since January, there have been 322 crashes along that stretch.
More than half were caused by drivers following too closely or failing to yield, and resulted in 160 rear-end collisions and 100 angle collisions.
The highest number of incidents happened at the intersection of Ft. Campbell Boulevard and Quin Lane with 25 crashes.
The intersection at Tiny Town Road is not far behind with 24 crashes since January.
Durrett Drive with 15 and Hermitage Road and Jack Miller Boulevard with 14 each round out the top five worst intersections for crashes so far this year.
Of the 322 total crashes for the year, 109 involved injuries and in May, a crash at the intersection of Ft. Campbell Boulevard and Hadley Drive was fatal.
Clarksville police officers feel there is a dangerous trend toward that end.
"The volume of traffic on this roadway is such that following too closely and speeding, they're getting people killed," Lt. Ashby said. "We're going to slow 'em down and get 'em off of each other's bumpers."
For the next few days, Ft. Campbell Boulevard will be part of a Governor's Highway Safety Blitz. Extra traffic and patrol units will run the road in an effort to stop the rising number of wrecks.
"The way we're going to do that is speed enforcement and enforcing any laws pertaining to aggressive driving and following too closely, disregarding traffic control devices," Lt. Ashby said.
Speed may be the biggest problem. The posted limit on Ft. Campbell Boulevard is 45 miles-per-hour. Many drivers think they have a cushion of at least 10 miles-per-hour over the limit.
In light of the high crash data, Clarksville police refuse to be lenient on bad drivers.
"State law says that you will not exceed the posted speed limit, which is 45. We're trying to re-educate the motoring public," Lt. Ashby said. "Here in Clarksville, don't take the 10 [over]."
The blitz runs through Sunday, but the crackdown by Clarksville police will continue in the days and months ahead in an effort to make the road safer.
