Web posted
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Buckle up - it's Cowley County law
Winfield - Expect additional police traffic enforcement during Cowley County Sheriff's Office Valentine's Week Child Passenger Safety Campaign, Feb. 11-17.
"If you or your child are observed driving while unrestrained, you can expect to be cited," said Undersheriff Don Read of the Cowley County Sheriff's Office.
The extra enforcement is underwritten by a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), which is designed to promote aggressive enforcement of all Kansas traffic laws.
Sheriff's officers will be working overtime on their scheduled days off and will be especially alert for child passengers who are not properly restrained, and for other occupants who are not buckled up.
According to Undersheriff Read, the Cowley County Sheriff's Office is working together with other Kansas law enforcement agencies, including the Kansas Highway Patrol, to reduce the number of preventable crash deaths and injuries that occur when occupants ride unrestrained. In Kansas, 60 percent of those killed in crashes have not invested the two seconds it takes to buckle up.
Of those uninjured in crashes, fully 88 percent are buckled up and 12 percent are not.
Of particular concern to police officers are adults who fail to properly restrain their children.
According to the latest child safety restraint survey by KDOT, on average, only about 68 percent of Kansas children, of all ages, are buckled in. This stands in stark contrast to the average adult rate of 75 percent which, though one of the worst in the nation, is still higher than for children, and suggests that some parents are buckling themselves in while leaving their children unrestrained.
Among children, those aged 0-4 are the most likely to be properly restrained, with county compliance rates ranging from as low as 66 percent to as high as 99 percent.
Children, ages 5-9, are less likely to be restrained, with county compliance rates ranging from 30 percent to 80 percent.
Even in the most compliant counties, two out of 10 kindergarten through fourth graders are daily placed at great risk for death and disability by the drivers entrusted with their care.
"At the very least, the most vulnerable among us should be protected," Read said. "One of the most difficult crash scenes for an officer is the one in which young children have been killed or injured needlessly by a driver's negligence in properly buckling them in. Crashes are traumatic enough for children. We never get used to their tears and their terror."
The Bureau of Traffic Safety for the State of Kansas conducts observational surveys in 20 of Kansas' largest counties - Cowley County is one of those 20 counties.
This is done in order to estimate how often adults are buckling up and how well we are properly restraining our children.
Kansas Law: Kansas law requires all riders under the age of four to be in federally approved child safety seat. Children 4 years of age, but under the age of 8 years, must be in a federally approved child safety seat/booster seat UNLESS the child weighs more than 80 pounds OR is taller than 4-feet 9-inches in height, at which point the child is buckled in as an adult would be, as are children, aged 8 through 13.
In the case of unrestrained children, ages 0-13, the driver is cited and fined $60 plus court costs.
In the case of young person, ages 14-17, in any position in the vehicle, those who are unbuckled are subject to individual citations and fines of $60 (includes court costs). The fine for unbuckled persons over the age of 17 is $30 (includes court costs).
"Just make it a habit. Buckle your kids in and buckle yourselves in before you leave your driveway, no matter how short the drive," said Read.
Undersheriff Don Read and all the men and women at the Cowley County Sheriff's Office wish the citizens of Cowley County safe traveling during 2008.
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