Police plan to target and reward safe drivers
Friday, September 7, 2007
Sponsors are hoping money will speak louder than words when they conduct the second annual “Bucks for Buckles” campaign in Emporia and across the state.
The campaign gives dollar bills to adults and children wearing safety restraints, as required by law, such as seat belts, car seats and booster seats for appropriate ages. It’s a small way to reinforce good driving habits and emphasize seat belt safety.
It is a cooperative effort by Safe Kids Kansas, State Farm Insurance, the Kansas Department of Transportation and local law enforcement officers in the 38 participating Kansas cities.
Dates, times and locations of the money hand-outs cannot be announced in advance, said Emporia police officer Larry Clay, who is in charge of the local effort.
The campaign ends on Sunday and the $275 available will need to be given away by the end of the day.
“We’re going to have three or four locations around town — undisclosed locations,” Clay said.
Local patrol officers will stop drivers and, depending upon the situation, will either reward them with money or provide them with educational materials about the effectiveness of wearing seat belts to save lives and reduce injuries.
Tickets will not be given to people who are not wearing seat belts, Clay said. In Kansas, not wearing a seat belt is not a primary cause to stop a vehicle.
Kansas ranked near the bottom of all states with 43 percent seat belt usage in a 2006 study of passengers aged 14 and older. The state statistics showed 73 percent wore seat belts, compared to the national average of 81 percent, according to materials provided by Clay.
A total of 464 people died on Kansas highways in 2006, Kansas Safe Kids coordinator Jan Stegelman said. Although final percentages were not available for last year, the 2005 study showed that 70 percent of those killed were not wearing safety restraints.
The National Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states that average hospital costs for an unbuckled crash are about 50-percent higher than those for seat-belted victims.
About 85 percent of those costs are paid for by society in general, rather than the individual involved, Stegelman said.