The White County Sheriff’s Office is increasing patrols and focusing on impaired drivers as travelers move through the area this weekend for the Bonnaroo Music Festival.
Sheriff Steve Page said the department has deployed extra patrols across the county to monitor for traffic hazards and speeders from the Coffee County event. Page said the agency typically sees between 15 and 20 drug-related stops during the four-day festival period.
“It’s not as much (traffic) as usual, but we have seen some people coming through from other states and other counties, of course,” Page said. “We are paying attention to them, looking for impaired drivers. We’ve got some extra patrol going on around the county for that specific reason and just trying to make sure everybody’s safe.”
Page said he believes the decrease in traffic may be due to drivers being aware of the strict law enforcement present during the event.
“Probably because they know we watch pretty close when it’s that time of year, as I’m sure everybody else does, but we’re really trying to focus and make sure we’re keeping our streets safe,” Page said.
Page said the department trains its officers to remain vigilant and specifically look for signs of impairment. Page said the agency also coordinates with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to assist with vehicle searches.
“We just communicate with them, and if they need our assistance… this morning we had one that actually called for assistance, you know, to do a search on the vehicle, and we always go to them, and if we have K9 on shift, we always send a K9 to help them with searches and stuff,” Page said.
Page said while the festival in Manchester is a massive event that draws thousands of people, the local focus remains on preventing accidents within White County. Page said officers respond to phone calls regarding suspected impaired drivers to ensure public safety.
“Bonnaroo’s a very, very busy place, popular place, and Manchester certainly has its hands full with all that, but it’s our job to make sure if they’re coming through here, we’re doing our job as well,” Page said.
Law enforcement in White County have placed a particular recent emphasis on speeding and traffic stops in Sparta and surrounding areas in an effort to maintain safety on the roadways. Over 45,000 people are expected to attend the music festival in Coffey County this year.
“I want them to know they better not come through White County with anything illegal or driving impaired, because we are watching,” Page said.
