By Stan Finger
The Wichita Eagle, Kan.
SEDGWICK, Kan. — Two seconds.
That’s how long Sedgwick County sheriff’s Lt. Annette Haga figures it takes to fasten a seat belt.
Yet 60 percent of the people killed in crashes in Kansas last year weren’t wearing their seat belts, meaning they didn’t invest those two seconds in buckling up, Haga said.
State and local law enforcement officers will spend the next seven days paying extra attention to ensure that drivers -- and their children -- are properly wearing safety restraints.
The Kansas Highway Patrol, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and the Wichita Police Department are participating in the Special Traffic Enforcement Program sponsored by the Kansas Department of Transportation.
The program provides funding for troopers, deputies and police officers who normally would be off duty to work overtime during the special enforcement period.
These special enforcement efforts have become an annual event, and they’re bearing fruit -- in Sedgwick County and around Kansas.
The use of seat belts in Kansas has increased from 61 percent of drivers ages 14 and older in 2002 to 75 percent in 2007.
For Sedgwick County, those numbers have grown from 59 percent in 2002 to 80 percent last year.
“Our numbers are going up every year,” said Dave Corp, the law enforcement liaison for the Kansas Department of Transportation. “That’s due to education and enforcement.”
But local authorities say there’s plenty of room for improvement.
“We get complacent in our lives and in doing things,” said Capt. Bruce Morton of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office. “Sometimes people who normally buckle up will get complacent and forget to do it.”
The special enforcement can serve as a reinforcement to a good habit, he said.
“It does save lives,” Morton said of wearing a seat belt.
Despite closing the gap in seat belt usage rates in recent years, Kansas continues to trail the national average.
“Without a ‘primary’ law, we’ll probably never be able to catch up to the national average,” Corp said.
A primary law allows officers to stop a motorist simply for not wearing a seat belt. Current law does not permit that, though citations can be issued for not wearing a seat belt once the driver is stopped for another reason.
That citation costs the recipient $30, while the fine for improper child restraint is $128, including court costs.
Corp said he hopes a law that took effect Jan. 1 requiring teens between 14 and 18 to wear seat belts will ingrain the habit in future generations, and they’ll maintain it the rest of their lives.
“We think that’ll have an impact,” Corp said.
Teens not wearing their seat belts face a $60 fine, including court costs.
Copyright 2008 The Wichita Eagle