C-TIER, Tennessee Highway Safety Office hosts Drive Safe campaign at University of Memphis
September 2, 2026
The Center for Transportation Innovations, Education and Research (C-TIER) and the Tennessee Highway Safety Office co-hosted the third annual "Drive Safe" campaign at the University of Memphis on September 2.
The event, funded by a $1.3 million grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, is designed to teach students the dangers of impaired and distracted driving, a message very dear to Matt Dillard of the 24/7 Movement, an organization that often partners with THSO to raise awareness about safe driving.
On Christmas Day 2022, an impaired driver, going 85 in a 55, crashed into a vehicle containing his son, daughter-in-law, and their three boys. His son and daughter-in-law died instantly. Dillard and his wife now raise their three children, who were two, four and seven at the time of the crash. Dillard now travels to school with the wrecked car his son was driving at the time of the crash, giving students a somber example of the dangers of impaired driving.
"Our mission now, our goal and our purpose, is to go around to schools to raise awareness to never get behind the wheel impaired, drunk, or texting while driving. Choices matter," Dillard said. "We're also very adamant about sharing our faith. By God's grace, these three children are still with us."
Dillard emphasized the fact that impairment starts with the first drink, along with the risks of a tragic crash.
"I'm sure this gentleman who hit my son and daughter-in-law never had the intent that that was going to happen. But, he made that choice, and the outcome is something that we're living with the rest of our lives. Not only did it affect our family, but it affected his family too. He's now serving a 30-year sentence for that choice." Dillard wrote a letter to that driver, forgiving him for his actions and now keeps his son and daughter-in-law's memory alive by sharing their story with others in hopes of saving lives through preventing dangerous driving.
Of course, that message holds great significance to many people across Shelby County. That's why organizations like the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Mother's Against Drunk Drivers, the Caswell Group Driving School, the Tennessee Trucking Association and the Collierville Police Department helped raise awareness at the event.
"We're trying to educate the public about the choices they make on the roadway," said Brandon Davis, motor officer with the Collierville Police Department's traffic division. "Some people are under the influence while driving. Some people are distracted while driving. We're just trying to educate everybody on things of what not to do in order to make it their destination safely."
Obviously, driving while under the influence of alcohol is illegal and dangerous. But so is driving while texting or talking on your phone, which is in violation of the Hands Free Law in Tennessee. Davis said anything that takes your eyes off the road increases the chance for a crash and that there's really no excuse for distracted driving.
"Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of crashes in Shelby County," Davis said. "Whether you're messing with a GPS unit, whether you're texting or talking on the phone, a lot of people don't realize that if that phone hits the floor, what are you going to do? Most people are going to reach down to pick up that phone. By the time they look up, it's too late. They've run into somebody's vehicle... We want you to make it safe to your location. Even if somebody calls you, get a Bluetooth earpiece, or connect to your car. It's not that important. It's not that serious."
At the booth for the Maxwell Driving School, participants had a chance to sign a "Distracted Driving Pledge," stating that, "I understand that distracted driving is one of the leading causes of crashes among teen drivers. By signing this pledge, I commit to protecting myself, my passengers, and everyone on the road."
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office brought with them to the event the "Seat Belt Convincer," a machine designed to simulate the impact of a 15-mile-per-hour crash. Most crashes, according to the sheriff's office, happen at or around 45 miles per hour. In the "Seat Belt Convincer," participants buckle up into a makeshift car seat and are then thrust forward, feeling a notable impact. When an airbag is deployed, it typically releases at 250 miles-per-hour, creating, in a 45-mile-per-hour crash, a total impact force of nearly 300 miles-per-hour. If someone isn't wearing their seatbelt properly, that force could break their ribs or, if they're sitting with their legs crossed, that force could shove their knees into their head, killing them instantly.
"If you wear your seatbelt under your arm or not at all, that airbag is coming out at you at over 250 miles per hour. If you're wearing your seatbelt under your arm, you're likely going to break every rib in your body on your left side," said Christopher Pearce, investigator and instructor in the Shelby County Sheriff's Office DUI Unit. "We stress the importance of eyes-up, phones-down, make a plan if you're going out to drink and, just like the 24/7 movement, choices matter.
But impaired driving doesn't just mean drunk driving. Any mind-altering substance has the ability to impair your decisions and alter your reactions while behind the wheel, and law enforcement can test for more than alcohol on the scene. Shelby County has a total of eight machines that can test for drugs in your system at the time of a crash. The process works by giving the driver an oral fluid to hold in their mouth for 50 seconds. About five minutes after an officer puts that fluid into their machine, they can tell if a driver has ingested cocaine, methamphetamines, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, THC, or fentanyl in the past six to 12 hours. The machine is designed for immediate use, not to tell if a driver has used any of these drugs in the past week, but to see if a driver has any of these drugs in their system at the time of a crash.
"People need to know that you can be tested," Pearce said. "There are tools out there today where you can be tested for and charged immediately for DUI. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office has five machines. Collierville has a machine. Barlett has a machine and the Germantown Police Department has a machine. So, just because you feel like you're okay to drive, you're not. Any amount of THC in your system is against the law. So, if you're going to smoke, even though it's not legal in the state of Tennessee, stay at home while you do it."
Participants at the event got the chance to experience impaired driving for themselves without taking a sip of alcohol or using any drug at the Tennessee Trucking Association's go-kart course. There, students were given goggles that simulate one's vision when impaired. Wearing those goggles, students attempted to walk in a straight line, grab a pencil and drive around a course of cones, often running over and dragging cones with them to their final destination.
"We lose 40,000 to 50,000 lives every year on roadways because of traffic crashes," said Dr. Sabya Mishra, Director of C-TIER. "So, from the viewpoint of safety, it is drivers' behavior that contributes to most fatalities. We have safer vehicles and safer roadways, but if we can improve driver education and awareness, then that leads to better roads and lesser accidents going to zero deaths or no fatalities on roadways. We have a long way to go towards zero deaths. So, this is essentially an attempt to bridge the gap. We have about 35,000 students, staff and faculty come to campus and this event is to increase awareness among everybody of how important it is when driving on the roadways."
That $1.3 million grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office doesn't just help researchers crunch numbers and analyze statistics. It provides students with opportunities to attend events like the Drive Safe campaign and learn lessons that they can use immediately to make Shelby County safer.
"We have several exercises here for participants to participate in. There is nothing like being involved in the community campaign rather than just reading a news article," Dr. Mishra said. "So, this allows us to engage with our audience and here we have a young audience, on campus, a lot of students. So, this is one of the ways that we can make an impact in our communities and I want to thank all of our partners for making that possible. We have several partners that come in like the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the 24/7 Movement, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, the City of Collierville, the City of Bartlett, CN Railroads, Mother's Against Drunk Driving and in-town driving schools that participate. So, we want to thank all of our supporters and all of our partners who help make this event happen at this time of the year but also at engagements throughout the year."