Thankful for seat belt safety

Make sure to Click it. Or ticket. this holiday season

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest seasons for America’s roads. With millions of drivers traveling near and far for Thanksgiving dinner, it’s more important than ever to stress the importance of seat belt safety. To keep drivers and their passengers safe, the Kansas Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies across the state are working around the clock to ensure Thanksgiving travelers are wearing their seat belts.

The high-visibility “Click it. Or ticket.” campaign aims to reduce the number of fatalities that occur when vehicle passengers fail to buckle up. In 2018 in Kansas, 127 unrestrained people died in motor vehicle crashes. Many of these deaths could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt. In Kansas, pick-up truck drivers and drivers in rural areas are among the top unrestrained fatalities.

With thousands of Kansans traveling to visit friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday, law enforcement across Kansas will have an increased effort during this high travel week. The high-visibility crackdown will run from Nov. 22 through the holiday weekend. If they spot you, they will pull you over and issue a citation.

“It’s our greatest hope that our community members make it to their Thanksgiving destinations safely,” said Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz. “Our goal is 100% compliance every trip, every time. Help us and your communities drive to zero fatalities on Kansas roadways this holiday season.”

The “Click it. Or ticket.” campaign is funded by a federal grant administered by KDOT. The crackdown runs concurrently with a media campaign reminding motorists that wearing your seatbelt is the law, even in the backseat. And, it's your best defense in a crash. So, please drive responsibly and ride safely. For more information about traveling safely this Thanksgiving, please visit KTSRO.org for more information. 

For continuously updated road conditions check www.kandrive.org 

Below 100: Law enforcement training combats complacency with safe practices

By Priscilla Petersen, southeast Kansas Public Affairs Manager 

Transportation safety is for everyone all the time. We recently had a chance to sit in on safety training for law enforcement officers, which was sponsored by KDOT. 

“We’re still killing ourselves by driving too fast and not wearing our seat belts,” instructor Adam Kary reminded his audience of law enforcement officials. An officer with the Topeka Police Department, Kary visited Iola recently to present the “Below 100” training to southeast Kansas police, sheriff and highway patrol staff.

 Adam Kary of the Topeka Police Department conducts ‘Below 100’ training for area law enforcement officers.

Below 100 is based on “Honoring the Fallen by Training the Living.” As the course began, Kary had everyone close their eyes and imagine themselves at a funeral for a fellow officer killed in the line of duty.

Every year since 1943, more than 100 law enforcement officers have been lost to line-of-duty deaths (LODD’s). “We need to hold ourselves accountable for our own actions,” Kary said.

The goal of Below 100 is to take LODD’s down to less than 100 each year, and to continue to reduce law enforcement deaths by addressing five crucial areas:

• Wear seat belts;
• Wear vest (body armor);
• Watch speed;
• Decide what is most important now;
• Complacency kills.

Kary told the class that the three factors in vehicular LODD’s are excessive speed, not wearing seat belts, and being struck by another vehicle. He asked the group to consider the time it takes to drive from point to point, and to think about whether speeding would actually get them to their destinations more quickly. Kary added that vehicular stopping distances increase at higher speeds. “We are not just killing ourselves” by not controlling behaviors such as speeding, he said, but are putting others at risk.

Throughout the session Kary showed videos and camera footage from traffic stops to illustrate how important it is for officers to remain vigilant, keep themselves safe, and be able to prioritize what is most important about each traffic stop and interaction with the public. He encouraged officers to engage in ‘courageous conversations’ with colleagues about seat belt use and the other LODD contributing factors. “Ignored behavior is condoned behavior,” Kary said.

Although changing organizational policy and culture will take time, Kary reminded the group that “complacency kills.”

Seat belt enforcement now underway near area high schools

In 2018, nearly half of all Kansas teens who died in traffic crashes were not wearing a seat belt, that reflects a similar statistic of nearly 50 percent of all traffic deaths in Kansas were unbuckled. 

That's one of the many reasons why the Kansas Highway Patrol, area law enforcement agencies and agencies in both Missouri and Oklahoma will participate in the annual “High Visibility Seat Belt Enforcement Campaign” near area high schools. The enforcement campaign began yesterday and it will run through March 8. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) seat belts have been proven to be one of the best ways to keep drivers and passengers safe in the case of a crash. 

This initiative is coupled with the Seat Belts Are for Everyone (SAFE) program in Kansas’ high schools. SAFE is a locally sustained program, administered by the students of the high school they attend.  The focus is on reducing deaths and injuries on Kansas roadways. Currently in Kansas, 168 high schools from 70 counties participate in the SAFE program. www.ktsro.org/safe


“Troopers will be working with local law enforcement partners in an aggressive education and enforcement campaign focused on the importance of seat belt usage,” said Colonel Mark Bruce, Superintendent of the KHP. “Seat belts have been proven to save lives and prevent injuries, and our goal is to make sure all young adults buckle up in all seating positions.” 

Everyone is reminded to buckle up. Every trip. Every time. 

Summer travel safety reminders

Due to the Fourth of July holiday, this weekend and early next week will consist of some of the busiest travel days of the year. If you and your loved ones will be traveling this weekend, or at any time during the summer, it is always best to be prepared for the unexpected. Stash a summer emergency kit in your car.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Red Cross have some great recommendations for assembling your summer road trip emergency safety kit.

Water	Non-perishable foods
Insurance papers	Medical Prescriptions and list of medications
Map	Spare keys for car and house
Blankets	Spare tire
Coolant	Brake fluid
Motor oil	Windshield washer fluid
First-Aid Kit	Flashlight
Mobile phone and charger	Fuel
Battery-powered radio	Tool box
Duct tape	Paper towels
Jumper cables	Tow rope or chain
Jack – if you need to change a tire	garbage bags
Umbrella	Rain poncho
Jumper Cables

Seat belt fine increase:
KDOT reminds motorists of the new seatbelt fine that will be implemented this Saturday, July 1, at midnight. The fine for a person 18 years and older who is not wearing a seatbelt increases from $10 to $30 per person. For each violation of a city ordinance, $20 from each $30 fine will be directed to the Seat Belt Safety Fund. The bill also directs 2.2 percent of all fines, penalties and forfeitures received from clerks of the district court to the Seat Belt Safety Fund.

The money received for the Seat Belt Safety Fund will be used for the promotion and education of occupant protection among children, including, but not limited to, school programs in the state of Kansas, such as Seat Belts Are for Everyone.

Alcohol, fireworks and driving don’t mix:
If drinking will be part of your Fourth of July weekend plans, remember to designate a sober driver. Never get behind the wheel even if you are just a little buzzed. Buzzed driving is drunk driving. Don’t let a celebration turn into a tragedy.

“Click it. Or ticket.” campaign seeks to stop preventable traffic deaths

WICHITA, Kan. – As summer kicks off and families hit the road for vacations, Kansas Department of Transportation officials and law enforcement agencies across the state are reminding motorists to Click it. Or ticket.  The statewide seat belt enforcement crackdown runs from May 22 through June 4, concurrent with one of the busiest travel and holiday weekends of the year. More than 150 law enforcement agencies across the state will be on the lookout day and night.

“This effort starts with you,” said Chris Bortz, KDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager. “It’s your responsibility to make sure every passenger is buckled up. On the drive to zero fatalities, you are in the driver’s seat.”

Officials from KDOT, the Kansas Turnpike Authority, and the Kansas Highway Patrol detailed the 2017 campaign at a news conference at the Towanda Service Area, off I-35 near Wichita.  Featured speaker, Vonnie Rickerson, of Fort Scott, shared her personal story of seeing seat belts save lives, and seeing crashes take lives away.

“When I was eight years old, our school bus passed beside a wreck,” Rickerson said.  “I’ll never forget the crashed vehicle I saw from my window seat.  The driver was not wearing a seat belt. The impact of the crash caused the driver to fly forward, hitting the steering wheel and dislodging her heart. She died instantly. The driver of the vehicle was my mom.”

Rickerson shed tears as she continued. It was July 2016 when she drove up to another, all-too-familiar crash scene. This time, her 15-year-old daughter and her daughter’s friend were inside the mangled car.

“I can't express all of the emotions I felt as I drove through the horrific scene of the crash, then seeing a crumpled car that I didn't think anybody could walk away from,” she said.  “I was sure we had lost our babies.”

After hitting a tree, the car rolled twice and flipped end to end.  When it finally came to rest, it was unrecognizable. Her daughter Hallie was unresponsive and was taken by helicopter to the hospital an hour away. But this time, both teens were wearing seat belts. And just two weeks later, they were back to living their lives.  

“I believe with all my heart that seat belts saved the lives of my daughter and her friend that day,” Rickerson said. “And I believe if my mom had been wearing a seat belt the day of her wreck, she may have lived as well.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the 22,441 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2015 were unrestrained. At night (from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.), that number soared to 57 percent of those killed. During the Click It. Or Ticket campaign, law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

In Kansas, 127 of those who died in passenger vehicle crashes were not using a seat belt. Nationally, almost twice as many males were killed in crashes compared to females. Of the males killed in crashes in 2015, 52 percent were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42 percent were not buckled up.

“We want travelers to do the one thing that gives them the best chance of surviving a serious crash: buckling up,” said Jason Weber, KTA Roadway Operations Manager. “If this enforcement campaign makes more people aware of the dangers of unrestrained driving and they begin to buckle up, we’ll consider it a success.”

“Many of us know someone who was killed in a crash because they did not buckle up,” said Technical Trooper Ben Gardner, Kansas Highway Patrol.  “Please, help us spread this life-saving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. Seat belts save lives, and everyone – front seat and back, child and adult – needs to remember to buckle up, every trip, every time.”

'Click it. Or ticket.' campaign seeks to reduce traffic injuries, deaths

Topeka doctor Bill Sachs doesn’t treat every car crash victim that comes to Stormont Vail Health. But as the trauma program director for the hospital, he and his staff see the worst.

“We just see the serious ones,” Sachs said. “The ones we see aren’t wearing their seat belts.”

Sachs knows what the studies back; wearing a seat belt reduces the number of significant injuries from deaths from motor vehicles by more than 50 percent. As a part of those studies, the Kansas Department of Transportation announced Wednesday at Stormont Vail that there will be added law enforcement looking out for those not buckling up. Kansas’ annual “Click it. Or ticket.” campaign will be Monday, May 16 through Sunday, June 5.

Lauren Newell, a sophomore at Wabaunsee High School who spoke at today’s event, was wearing her seat belt last year when she was involved in a crash and walked away from the event. Her boyfriend, who was not wearing his was ejected from the car and now suffers from a traumatic brain injury.

“Because he didn’t wear his seat belt, his life will never be the same,” Newell said. “It doesn’t matter how far you’re driving or how fast you are going. You need to buckle up.”

Transportation Secretary Mike King echoed Newell’s message.

“We know when seat belt use goes up, fatalities and serious injuries go down,” King said. “‘Click it. Or ticket.’ campaign focuses on our goal of ‘Drive to Zero,’ which means just one preventable death on our roadways is one too many.”

“On the ‘Drive to Zero,’ you are in the driver’s seat,” King said. “It’s up to you to make sure everyone in your car is buckled up.”

For the next few weeks law enforcement will be working overtime to enforce Kansas’ seat belt laws because it saves lives.

Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Adam Winters has worked countless crashes in his career as a Trooper.

“Every time we are dispatched to a crash, I just hope that the victims are wearing their seat belts,” Winters said. “Memorial Day is the official kick off to summer, and we know the roads are going to be busy. Please take the time to buckle up. Every trip. Every time.”