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Dorothy Copus Brush Let's hope the folks in
driver's By 6 in the evening Crossville's downtown
is bereft of traffic and humans. It is a different scene every
Tuesday evening at the Crossville Police Department. From shortly
after 5:30 people appear heading toward the building. They pass
through the unlocked doors and on through two sets of double
doors and up a long flight of stairs. They enter a large room and sit quietly waiting
for drivers school to begin promptly at 6. The group is of all
ages and about equally divided between male and female. The one
thing they share in common is a traffic violation. On the stroke
of 6 the creaking stairs announce the arrival of the instructor,
Patrolman Brian Eckelson. After calling the role of just under 30 names, Eckelson inquired what violation had brought them here. The majority said they had been stopped for
speeding. I learned about this class because our son received
a ticket for speeding, and he was so impressed with the two-hour
session he wanted to compliment Eckelson. Because son lives in
Asheville, NC, he asked if I would pass on his positive feelings.
That I did and then told Eckelson I would like to do a column
about the school, and he suggested I attend a class. Drivers ticketed for infractions are asked
if they have had a driving citation in Crossville in the past
three years. If the answer is no, they are told they have three
options. They can go to court and dispute the ticket, they can
pay an $85 fine, or they can pay $35 and attend one two-hour
class held each Tuesday evening from 6 to 8. Saving $50 is appealing,
and the average attendance of 30 each Tuesday indicates the dollars
saved influences the choice of options presented. Another plus
for making this choice is that your driving record does not show
this violation. Eckelson is very aware of how boring this class could be, and he makes every effort to ensure the two hours pass quickly. There is nothing cut and dried about the class. There is no problem in getting people to ask questions, gripe a little but also to learn some things they had not known about Tennessee law. Several times he pulled a small green book
from his breast pocket to read the actual wording of laws. He
stressed the difference between the intent of the law and the
letter of the law. Eckelson spent five years in the service as
a military policeman, and then back in civilian life he continued
in police work in Louisiana and Mississippi and then worked in
the Tennessee State Prison for two years. He came to the Crossville
Police Department two years, five months ago under the federally
funded Cops Fast program. For him it is important that police
work be community-oriented. The two hours moved at a rapid pace, but the
final minutes were spent watching a sobering video done by a
Mississippi highway patrolman with 19 years on the force. This
officer gives talks to many schools and organizations on safe
driving. His presentation is low-key and folksy. In his 19 years
of service he has had the heart-breaking duty of knocking on
168 doors to give families the word that one of their loved ones
has died in a traffic accident. For me and our son, that part of the video
brought back a memory from 30 years ago. My son had graduated
from high school but was still living at home. He had gone out
with friends one summer evening and had not returned when we
retired. We were sound asleep when suddenly the overhead light
in our bedroom came on, and through sleep-filled eyes we saw
our son standing there dirty and his face caked with dried blood.
He said, "I had an accident, and the patrolman who brought
me home said I should wake you and tell you how relieved he was
that he could deliver me home alive." Others watching that video might never have experienced such a personal memory, but I had the feeling most of them would remember the importance of being a responsible safe driver. |