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Police car battle to resume tonight
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McMinnville officials will be eyeing new bids for a McMinnville Police Department patrol car Tuesday night after a past bid from an out-of-town dealership was rejected.
Safety Committee members Jimmy Bonner, Mike Neal and Rick Barnes voted unanimously in January to deny the current bid and go out for new bids in an effort to buy a vehicle from a local dealership. Barnes says he is in favor of buying locally.
“We went out for bids because we want to buy local,” Barnes said. “I don’t know how you feel about buying locally, but I think everyone should try to buy local. I work out of town, but I wait until I get back in town to buy gas.”
Rejected last month was a bid received in September 2012 for a 2013 Chevrolet Impala police pursuit sedan from Chevrolet of Murfreesboro in the amount of $20,695. At that time, officials accepted that bid over one received from Kidd Ford for a 2013 Ford police pursuit sedan in the amount of $22,596.
When another vehicle was needed by McMinnville Police Department, Police Chief Bryan Denton urged officials to accept another vehicle for the same $20,695 bid because the department was in a “minor bind” and needed a vehicle sooner than later.
“Time is not terribly of the essence, but the sooner we can get the vehicle the better,” Denton said.
When officials discussed not accepting the bid in an effort to go out for bids and maybe get a lower one from a local dealer, Denton warned it has been his experience bids do not change.
Denton’s experience was correct. The numbers received during a new bidding process were relatively unchanged, with Kidd Ford’s bid for a Ford being approximately 10 percent higher than the lowest bid submitted for a Chevy Impala.
Alderman Rick Barnes argued in September 2012 and in January 2013 he would rather buy locally. He says he will continue to push the point this month.
“The city is partnering with the Southern Standard and its Try Here Buy Here campaign, but we consistently buy our vehicles out of town,” said Barnes. “Terry Kidd’s bid is under 10 percent less than the lowest bid and it’s on a better product.”
Barnes says he called Terry Kidd, the owner of Kidd Ford, and asked about the state of his business.
“He has 28 employees with benefits and pays $700,000 a year in payroll,” Barnes said. “We say we want more jobs here, but we purchase items out of town. If you want more jobs here, you have to buy here.”
State law requires officials to offer a fair bidding process and accept the lowest and best bid, regardless of business location. Preference to a local business can only be given if the price and item offered is the same as a company that’s not local.
The meeting to discuss the bids will be held on the third floor of city hall and begins tonight at 5:45 p.m.

Local law enforcement on the lookout for distracted driving
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April is National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Distracted Driving Awareness Month and McMinnville Police Department (MPD) is on the roads to educate motorists about appropriate hands-free driving.

The amplified focus of cracking down on distracted driving is a nationwide initiative, with many states taking part. MPD Officer Mark Mara indicated the local department is increasing patrols, funded by overtime grants, to enforce and educate about Tennessee’s Hands Free Law.

“We’re trying to get people to change their habits,” Mara said. “There’s a lot of people that are distracted while driving, whether its their cell phones or not. When driving, there are already so many distractions, so having electronics in your hands while you’re driving down the road is dangerous. We need to focus on getting where we need to go and getting there safely.”

According to its records, NHTSA estimates 3,308 lives were lost in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2022 and 8% of all fatal crashes could be attributed to the same. To illustrate the point on a larger scale, it approximates over 32,000 people have died and nearly 290,000 were left injured from crashes attributed to distracted motorists between 2013 and 2022.

Violation of the Tennessee Hands Free Law is a Class C misdemeanor and traffic citations based on the violation are considered moving traffic violations. A first-time offense is typically $50 with third-time offenses and violations resulting in a crash rising to $100; citations received in a work zone while workers or present or in a marked school zone while flashes are in operation carry a penalty of $200. Three points are also added to a motorist’s driving record for each violation with 12 points leading to license suspension.

While the law specifically mentions hands in its name, it is similarly illegal to prop the phone up with any other part of their body.

“We’re going to be stopping vehicles whose operators are distracted by using their cell phones or other electronic devices,” Mara said. “It is against the law for a motorist to be holding their electronic device or having it on their body, so if you’re holding it to your ear or with your shoulder, it’s against the law all the same.”

When using GPS technology, Mara recommends investing in windshield-, vent- or dash-mounted mobile device holder to support the phone while using it for those purposes so your hands can remain on the wheel without compromising your ability to navigate to a destination.

“I understand that your cell phones are a lifeline and we get that — we use them ourselves for GPS. If you have an important phone call that’s coming in and you really need to focus on talking to that person, just pull over to the side of the road and turn on your emergency lights,” Mara said. “When you’re on a phone call, you’re not paying attention to all of the things you need to. You’re going to be concentrating on that conversation and you’re going to find yourself drifting in your lane, going through a stop sign or not stopping properly before a red light.”

Mara additionally recommended drivers sync their phones to their vehicles in models with Bluetooth capabilities and to use phone mounts that do not obstruct vision of the roadways through the windshield.

“The greatest danger of distracted driving is ending up in a crash that was absolutely avoidable, which might hurt yourself or someone else,” Mara said. “You’ve got a lot in front of you when you’re driving and a vehicle is a piece of machinery. We want all motorists to be driving safely on the roads and getting to their destinations without misadventure.”

Warnings and citations will be rendered at officers’ discretion during the increased patrols.