Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Area police agencies team up to enforce seat belt use
Buckle up or face a ticket.
More than 30 agencies in southeast Minnesota will join forces over the next two weeks to enforce seat belt use as part of the statewide Safe & Sober “Click It or Ticket” campaign.
Winona police officers will work 150 hours of overtime, specifically targeting traffic enforcement between Monday and June 1, Deputy Chief Tom Williams said. Some areas in the city may have three or more marked squads working as “high visibility” enforcement.
The campaign comes in the wake of a recent Winona police survey, in which officers observed 49 percent of people in the Winona area wearing seat belts, Williams said. That falls well below the state average of 83 percent, he said.
“Click It or Ticket” is designed to educate people about seat belt use and encourage drivers to buckle up, Williams said.
“The program saves lives,” he said, “and ultimately saves dollars.”
According to the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety, 82 people not wearing seat belts were killed and 190 more were seriously injured in the southeast Minnesota region between 2004 and 2006, resulting in an estimated $26.2 million in medical expenses. Of the 11 people who died in vehicle crashes in Winona County, five were not wearing belts, according to the OTS.
A 17-year-old girl, Britney Stiehl, who was not wearing a seat belt, died in a head-on crash Feb. 4 on U.S. Highway 14.
Seat belt violations are classified as a secondary offense, meaning drivers must violate another traffic law — such as speeding or running a stop sign — before they can be pulled over and ticketed for not wearing a seat belt, Williams said. Seat belt tickets can cost more than $100.
The Minnesota House of Representatives recently voted against a bill that would make seat belt infractions a primary offense, the same category as running a red light or driving over the centerline. The bill would have banned new teenage drivers from using a cell phone to talk or send text messages while driving. Several versions of the bill have passed the Senate in the past but have been unable to clear the House.
Participating agencies include the Winona, Houston and Fillmore county sheriff’s departments and the Winona, Goodview, St. Charles and Red Wing police departments.
The group is one of the first and best coalitions in the state that works together to actively enforce traffic safety, Brad Kollmann, law enforcement liaison for the OTS, said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind there are people on this earth because these people are dedicated to saving lives,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or kbehr@ winonadailynews.com.
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