Fort Scott teens found to be in compliance with seat belt law

The local results of a seat belt enforcement initiative recently conducted by law enforcement agencies across the state were positive.

Fort Scott Police Department School Resource Officer Joe Allen said Friday that only one teen seat belt citation was issued during a seat belt enforcement campaign conducted Feb. 23 through March 6 around area high schools.

The two-week enforcement was an effort by Kansas Highway Patrol troopers and other officers to monitor compliance of teen drivers with state seat belt laws. The campaign was hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation's Traffic Safety Section in conjunction with Kansas' Seat belts Are For Everyone (SAFE) program.

"As far as the (Fort Scott) high school is, there was one citation written by me, one teen seat belt citation," Allen said.

Allen, coordinator of the SAFE program at Fort Scott High School, said he was pleased to see drivers complying with seat belt laws during his patrols around the high school.

"They did real well. Everybody I saw had seat belts on," he said.

Allen said five adult seat belt citations, four child restraint citations and three speeding citations were also issued, for a total of 13 tickets written during the enforcement period. Allen said FSPD officers worked eight-and-a-half hours during the enforcement period.

Allen said while the goal is to not issue any citations, he was pleased with the low number of tickets and compliance with the seat belt initiative.

"We're doing something right here," he said. "The numbers are low and that's good. The goal is to not write any citations."

During the enforcement, FSPD officers stepped up patrol efforts around local schools, particularly the high school, as the enforcement was geared toward teen seat belt use, Allen said. He said he will report local numbers to the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office and also share the figures with the group of students who are involved in the local SAFE program at FSHS.

The Kansas SAFE program, which began in 2008 in Southeast Kansas, is a student-driven, peer-to-peer program focused on increasing teen restraint compliance through positive rewards and enforcement. It is designed to bring awareness to the importance of wearing a seat belt, reducing the number of motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities among Kansas teens. The goal of SAFE is to increase seat belt use among students while providing strong traffic safety messages throughout the school year. Currently, 128 schools from 61 countries participate in the program.

Locally, the FSHS SAFE team provides educational efforts about traffic safety including handouts, fliers, assemblies, videos and other activities. The local SAFE program began in 2010.

The Kansas Highway Patrol issued more than twice the amount of seat belt citations during this year's enforcement than troopers did in 2014. A KHP news release said troopers issue 265 teen seat belt citations (ages 14-17) this year, compared to 123 in 2014. During this year's enforcement campaign, KHP also issued 344 adult seat belt citations, compared to 493 in 2014, and 42 child restraint citations compared to 67 in 2014. KHP also issued 224 other citations for driving while suspended, warrants, texting, registration and speed violations, the release said.

"Failing to buckle up continues to be an all-too-familiar cause of death in traffic crashes," KHP Superintendent Col. Mark Bruce said in the release. "Crashes, that in many instances would have been survivable had the occupant(s) been wearing a seat belt. This is particularly true with our teen drivers and passengers."

"Much progress has been made in improving the rate of compliance with the state's occupant protection laws, but much work remains to be done," Bruce said.

In 2014, Kansas lost 34 teens (ages 13-19) in crashes, with 63 percent of those victims not being properly restrained. The hope of the enforcement is to work to increase education and enforcement on seat belt laws. KDOT, KTSRO and law enforcement partners across the state have spent more than 20 years educating Kansas teens on the dangers of driving without a seat belt, the release said.