Fort Scott police: Click it campaign over, enforcement will continue

The Fort Scott Police Department recently wrapped up its 14-day "Click It or Ticket" campaign that resulted in 78 citations being issued in that time span.

From May 19 to June 1, officers conducted saturation patrols that aggressively enforced Kansas's traffic laws, occupant protection and impaired driving.

During the campaign, officers wrote 32 safety belt citations, two child restraint citations and four speeding citations along with 40 other citations for violations like driving with suspended license and illegal registration.

There were no check points set-up during the initiative. Rather, an increased number of officers, working overtime, patrolled the streets looking for children not properly buckled in seat restraints or other noticeable violations.

"Tickets are meant to teach," Public Safety Director Jeff Davis said in a written statement. "We hope those who were stopped have learned from their experience. If so, we have made the roads a little safer for everyone. We will continue to do all that we can to ensure that the roads in Fort Scott are as safe as we can make them. The Click It or Ticket campaign may be over, but our enforcement is not."

The campaign was supported by a grant FSPD attained through the Department of Transportation.

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

Traffic crashes last year caused over 460 deaths, with 70 percent of the deaths were people not buckled up. By contrast, nearly 90 percent of those not injured were wearing seat belts. Kansas ranks 43rd 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 department conducted a similar program last November. They wrote 22 safety belt citations, 2 child restraint tickets, 40 speeding citations, one driving under the influence citation and 27 other citations like turn signals.