OTTAWA – The Ottawa Police Department is watching you. As part of a statewide Memorial Day “Click it or Ticket,” police will pay particular attention to your seat belt use. Officers will also be checking to see children are in appropriate child restraints. They’ll also look for other traffic violations. The campaign will last through next week. It might be inconvenient but Ottawa Police Chief Dennis Butler said the goal is to save lives. “But too many drivers play the odds and don’t buckle up, or require their passengers to buckle up because, in their experience, a crash is unlikely,” he said. “But, when a crash does happen – and it’s generally within five miles from home – the two seconds it takes to buckle up looks like a smart investment.” Using seat belts lessens the severity of injuries when traffic accidents occur and holds down health care costs, he said. Kansas’ adult seat belt compliance rate is 83 percent and ranges, by county, from 66 to 89 percent, with higher rates generally in urban counties and lower rates generally in rural counties. “Given that unrestrained vehicle occupants are much more likely to die in crashes than are those who buckle in, it is no surprise that the lower safety restraint usage rate in rural areas is matched with a higher crash fatality rate,” Butler said.
Friday, May 25, noon