Director Clyde "Buddy" Lewis

Clyde (Buddy) D. Lewis. Buddy was named director of the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) in October 2019. He is a native of Tipton County, Tennessee, has a long career in public service, which started immediately upon graduation from Byars Hall High School in Covington, Tennessee. His unwavering commitment to public safety, spanning over four decades, has called Lewis to serve in many leadership positions at all levels of government. He served dutifully in various capacities in public safety which affords him invaluable experience that can only be obtained through on-the-job training.

Lewis serves the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) by overseeing the state’s highway safety program, which works to reduce statewide traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities by promoting highway safety education and enforcement. The THSO works in tandem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement local initiatives addressing occupant protection, impaired driving, speed enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and crash data collection and analysis. Programs administered by the THSO are 100 percent federally funded.