February 7, 2019
Recently the Belle Meade Police Department partnered with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) to conduct a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement on Lower Jackson Blvd. (between Harding Rd. and Belle Meade Blvd.). The saturation focused on commercial vehicles that utilize Jackson Blvd as a cut-through and were in violation of the 8-ton restriction that this street has in place.
There was only one commercial vehicle that day that was in question of being over the weight limit. The vehicle was stopped for not having company markings on the side of the dump truck. Upon investigation, the driver was found to be in violation of the driver’s license law. He possessed a class DM license, and a class B was required. He was issued a Belle Meade Citation for financial responsibility (insurance) and wrong license for type of vehicle. THP completed an inspection and put the truck out of commission since the driver did not have a valid license. The company was completing work at the corner of Jackson Blvd. and Gerald Place. The driver was required to park the vehicle until the company could send a valid CDL driver to take possession of the vehicle.
The company that owned the vehicle was “Country Boy’s Concrete” located in Nashville, TN.
One other commercial vehicle was stopped on Belle Meade Blvd at Jackson Blvd. The vehicle was not traveling on Jackson Blvd. An inspection of the tires on this dump truck revealed that eight tires did not have sufficient tread. THP elected to put the truck out of service and mandated that the vehicle be parked until eight tires could be delivered to the vehicle by a service company of the driver’s choice. The company that owned the truck is “VT Topsoil” out of Joelton, TN. The company was performing work on Chickering Lane outside of the city limits. The truck was en route to Highway 12 and was using Belle Meade Blvd as a cut through to get to its destination. No Belle Meade citations were issued to the driver.
One speeding violation was observed on a passenger car and a citation was issued at Jackson Blvd at Deer Park Drive. The speed of the violator was 38 mph in a 25 mph zone.
Belle Meade Sgt. Williams drove the THP officers around to show them the boundaries of the City, and the officers were surprised at the number of large commercial vehicles spotted. They conducted an “after actions” briefing with us and felt that most commercial trucks were using Belle Meade Blvd as a cut-through rather than Lower Jackson Blvd. THP suggested that we consider a city wide enforcement campaign in order to be the most effective with our commercial vehicle enforcement. We plan to request their services again to set up enforcement sites at other locations in the City.