Starting on Halloween, October 31 through November 4, the Spring Hill Police Department and other law enforcement across Kansas will be extra-vigilant when patrolling around schools to highlight the importance of wearing seat belts while in a vehicle.
“In the health field, they talk about making sure children have received their immunizations to prevent deadly diseases,” said Chief Richard Mann. “But what many parents don’t think about is that wearing a seat belt properly is the best prevention of serious injury or death in a vehicle.”
In 2014, 28 children ages 0-17 lost their lives due to car crashes in Kansas. Sadly, half of those children were not wearing their seat belts, and 8 of them were ejected from the vehicle.
According to the 2016 Kansas observational seatbelt survey, children are much more likely to be buckled up if the driver is wearing their seat belt. If the driver is buckled, about 96% of the children are restrained. If the driver is not buckled, only about 27% of the observed children were buckled. We want adults to model good driving behaviors for children.
For more than 20 years, officers have educated and warned drivers and passengers regarding the importance of using seat belts while in their vehicle. There should be no surprises when it comes to this enforcement effort. Officers will issue citations to anyone who does not obey Kansas law.
“Even one child’s death is unacceptable," said Chief Mann. "Please slow down, especially in school zones, eliminate the distractions, and always buckle up.”