In addition to the extra DUI enforcement we're conducting around the St. Patrick's Day holiday (41 people were arrested at a checkpoint last night at 39th Street and Southwest Trafficway, and another checkpoint is scheduled this weekend), KCPD also has received grant funding to conduct extra seat belt enforcement, especially among teenagers. Here's the press release:
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department is joining with several other law enforcement agencies for an aggressive mobilization from March 15 to 31 to crack down on Missouri’s seat belt law violators in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities.
Nearly one in four Missourians still fail to regularly wear their seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Teens are even less likely to wear their seat belts with only 66 percent regularly buckling up. Eight out of ten teens killed in traffic crashes are unbuckled.
"It’s that time of year when teen drivers are out more than ever,” Traffic Enforcement Unit Sergeant Grant Ruark said. “Warmer weather is approaching, and prom season is right around the corner, so it is important that we get as many of our young drivers and passengers to buckle up as possible. The statistics regarding teens and seat belt use are alarming. We’ve got to do more. We want them to ‘Arrive Alive.’”
For information on Missouri seat belt usage, visit www.saveMOlives.com.
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