Highway Patrol credits added troopers, reports fewer traffic fatalities and increased enforcement activity

Colonel Matt Perry, commander of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, told the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee that additional trooper positions and resources have helped reduce traffic fatalities and increase proactive enforcement.

"In 2024, we had a, 123 less fatalities than in '23," Perry said, later noting figures that encompassed a multi‑year decline (he also described a 143‑fatality decline in related phrasing). He said the patrol conducted about 620,000 traffic stops last year, up from prior years, and emphasized that proactive traffic enforcement — "stopping cars" rather than focusing on ticket quotas — is central to reducing fatalities.

Perry highlighted school safety checks as a priority, saying the patrol performed 48,000 school checks in 2023, "54,000" in 2024 and was on pace for roughly 60,000 in 2025. He also summarized activity from the aviation and interdiction units, listing seizures of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl across 2024 and 2025 operations and noting hundreds of recoveries and missing‑person rescues by aviation teams.

Committee members asked about retention, training and reports in media alleging arrests without evidentiary support. Perry said the patrol's turnover is primarily retirements (about 25 per year), that pay and training are keeping personnel, and that the agency does not use arrest quotas: "There's no push from the highway patrol... certainly no quota," he said. On reported cases of alleged "sober arrests," Perry said every such case is reviewed at the district level with video and other indicators and that body‑worn cameras have improved evidence review.

Senators also asked about distracted driving and Vision Zero infrastructure work; Perry said the patrol uses crash and traffic‑stop data to deploy resources but that infrastructure changes are outside the patrol's purview. On commercial enforcement, he said out‑of‑country non‑domiciled drivers may drop a load and depart but cannot operate domestically; responsibility for care and costs when livestock trailers are taken out of service generally falls to the owner but has sometimes fallen to the state.

Senator Taylor praised the Memphis Safe Task Force and asked how gains would be sustained after it leaves; Perry pointed to partnerships, training and continued trooper presence as sustaining factors. The committee had no formal votes on THP matters during the briefing.