Traffic Safety Task Force prepares APSU students for Safe Spring Break
More than 400 Austin Peay State University students attended the Safe Spring Break IMPACT Panel held at the Clement Auditorium on Feb. 26.
The event was organized by the Clarksville-Montgomery County Traffic Safety Task Force to spotlight the dangers of distracted driving and featured four speakers whose lives were personally affected by distracted driving.
Fletcher Cleaves, who has been featured on “College GameDay,” “SportsCenter” and “Outside the Lines,” spoke about a car crash that changed his life forever. In 2009, while attending college on a football scholarship, a distracted driver suspected of texting while driving caused a crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Now a quadriplegic, he speaks about the importance of safe driving and overcoming adversity.
John Mark Adkins, a former Clarksville Police Department sergeant, spoke about being hit by a drunk driver while in his patrol vehicle. He also spoke about a crash caused by a distracted driver involving his wife and three children. The crash ignited a vehicle fire with his wife and children still in the car. Witnesses were able to rescue the children, but his wife was trapped. She died at the scene.
Capt. Anthony Griffin and Lt. Bill Miller with the Tennessee Highway Patrol spoke about crashes they worked early in their patrol careers. The crashes shaped their careers and their advocacy for safe driving habits. They also spoke about the heartache of notifying family members of a death due to traffic crashes.
The primary goal of the multi-agency Clarksville-Montgomery County Traffic Safety Task Force is to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities through education, enforcement and engineering.
The Task Force would like to thank Austin Peay State University for its partnership on the IMPACT panel, Barnes and Noble for donating $100 in gift cards and Chick-fil-A, Zaxby’s and Bojangles’ for donating food and supplies for the event.