PRESS RELEASE:
Because car crashes are the No. 1 killer of kids and because nearly 73 percent of all child restraints are not used correctly, Kansas City Police will join other agencies statewide in aggressively enforcing child restraint laws.
The Child Passenger Safety Week Campaign will run from Sept. 18 to 24 and crack down on Missouri’s child safety seat law violators to try to reduce fatalities and injuries to children. The campaign will involve having extra officers on the streets and highways looking for violations of all types, but especially focusing on those involving unbuckled children. Missouri law requires all children under the age of eight to be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat unless they are 80 pounds or 4 feet 9 inches tall.
“Regular child safety seat and safety belt use is the most effective way to protect yourself and your children in a motor vehicle crash,” Sgt. Grant Ruark of the Traffic Enforcement Unit said. “We intend to get this message across to those who do not practice the simple habit of buckling up themselves and their children.”
For more information on Missouri’s seat belt use, visit www.saveMOlives.com
Additionally, Kansas City Police will conduct a driver’s license checkpoint tonight. During this operation, there will be signs placed in advance of the checkpoint site, and officers will be directing traffic. Motorists will be directed to a location where an officer can conduct a brief check to determine whether the motorist should be delayed longer. If not, the motorist will be delayed only a very brief period of time.
