Local police tightening up safety belt enforcement

Fort Scott Police Department is warning area drivers to be on alert for increased traffic enforcement by officers from May 19, to June 1.

Additional officers will be placed on area streets to aggressively enforce occupant restraint and other traffic laws, according to a statement by FSPD. Officers will be strictly enforcing safety belt use and child passenger safety acts.

The law specifies that all front seat passengers must be buckled in. The passenger safety act allows officers to pull over any vehicle suspected of holding child passengers under 14 years old who aren't properly restrained. It says that children 4 years old must be secured in a federally-approved child safety seat. Children 4 to 7 years old must be securely belted into an approved booster seat and children 8 to 13 must be safely buckled in. Also, the acts prohibit persons 14 and under from riding in any part of a vehicle not intended for carrying passengers, like a bed of a pick-up truck.

"Everyone knows there is both seat belt law and a law directing that children should be properly restrained," Public Safety Director Jeff Davis said in a statement. "I believe that everyone knows it is a smart thing to do. But too many drivers play the odds, (saying) 'It hasn't happened yet, so, why this time ... especially on this road. And besides, we're not going too far.' However, as a law enforcement officer, I can tell you it does happen--too often.

"I can't say it any clearer than this: Safety belts and child restraints are your best protection against the unexpected, including all forms of driver inattention, even your own."

FSPD is among 130 law enforcement agencies statewide, including the Kansas Highway Patrol. The goal of Click It or Ticket is aimed to reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries that happen to passengers and drivers involved in accidents who aren't buckled up, according to the statement.

Traffic crashes last year caused over 460 deaths. 70 percent of those fatally injured were not buckled up. By contrast, nearly 90 percent of those not injured were wearing seat belts. Kansas ranks 43 in the nation for seat belt compliance, which is under the national average of 82 percent. The highest rates of usage are found in more populous counties with the lowest rates in less populated counties. As a result, the lower compliance rates in rural areas is matched with a higher crash fatality rate.

The compliance rate for children seat restraint is low, with only 61 percent of children 13 and under being properly restrained. County rates vary from 39 percent to 75 percent, with rural counties falling behind urban areas.

The department conducted a similar program last November. They wrote 22 safety belt citations, two child restraint tickets, 40 speeding citations, one driving under the influence citation and 27 other citations like turn signals.

The stepped-up enforcement, called Click It or Ticket, was made possible by a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

"Fort Scott Police is making a clear statement that it is committed to aggressively ticketing violators of Kansas passenger restraint laws, and all traffic infractions that make our roadways unsafe," according to the statement.

For more information on occupant protection issues, contact the Kansas Safety Belt Education Office at (800) 416-2522 or KTSRO@alltel.net. With help with child safety seat installation or to check an already installed seat, contact Corp. Jessie Brower at (620) 223-1700.