Total Eclipse 2017 In Tennessee: Troopers Prep For Busy Day, Offer Driving Tips

NASHVILLE, TN — Don't stop on the Interstate. Don't take an eclipse selfie behind the wheel. And don't wear the safety shades while driving.

With August 21's total solar eclipse transiting across a significant portion of Middle Tennessee, offering some of the longest periods of totality in the country during the coast-to-coast event, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to travel to the Volunteer State to check out the once-in-a-lifetime astronomical occurrence, making for an especially busy Monday on the interstates and the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol want to prevent as many snafus, hang-ups and accidents as possible. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

The highway patrol has put in more hours planning for the eclipse than any event since Y2K. TDOT started planning just after Christmas. It'll be all hands on deck for both agencies. The THP will have every available trooper on duty that day; TDOT is deploying all of its yellow H.E.L.P. trucks. TDOT and THP will join state and local emergency management agencies at the Nashville TEMA command center.

It's not just the heavy volume of drivers expected that has the agencies planning ahead. There's also some worry that the awe of the event may lead to some bad decision making by motorists.

THP and TDOT have safety tips for folks who may be out and about on the roads when the sky goes dark in the early afternoon of August 21:

• Carpool or use public transit if you can
• Turn on your headlights before the period of totality begins (things start getting dark in Nashville just before 1:30 p.m.; check out times and durations by address)
• Don't look at the sun while driving (or at any time, frankly)
• Don't wear the safety glasses behind the wheel
• Keep moving; stopping on any road with moving traffic is dangerous, particularly so on the interstate
• Don't stop on the shoulder of the interstate unless there's an emergency; you can be ticketed
• No selfies behind the wheel

Most importantly: plan ahead. It's bound to be a busy day on the road. Get to your eclipse watching spot well in advance of the event.

Image via Shutterstock