Posted: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 1:18 pm

The Tennessee Department of Safety announced today preliminary reports indicate six people were killed in six fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways during the 2009 Labor Day holiday, compared to 12 fatalities last year in 10 fatal crashes.

None of the fatalities occurred in Rutherford County.

The 2009 Labor Day holiday period started at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, and ran through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7.

During the 78-hour holiday period, all six fatal crashes were in single vehicle crashes. Two of the fatalities occurred in alcohol-related crashes. Last year, none of the 12 fatalities occurred in crashes where alcohol was involved. Five of the people killed were vehicle occupants and three of the five were not wearing safety restraints.

This year, one of the victims was a motorcyclist. This is a decrease from last year, when five motorcyclists were killed during the long holiday weekend.

The THP participated in numerous special enforcement initiatives aimed at reducing fatalities during the Labor Day weekend, including more than 80 driver license and sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and speed enforcement.