City of Derby News Release
2008 Click It or Ticket Campaign
May 13, 2008
The statewide Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign will run from May 19 through June 1. This annual campaign, funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), encourages motorists and passengers to follow state law and buckle up.
The Derby Police Department is one of 130 law enforcement agencies participating in Click It or Ticket. The goal of the campaign is to reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries that occur when unbelted drivers and passengers are involved in traffic crashes. According to KDOT’s Bureau of Traffic Safety, 414 lives were lost in 2007 traffic accidents. Of those who died, about 70 percent were not belted in. By contrast, almost 90 percent of those not injured were wearing seat belts.
“Everyone knows there is a seat belt law and a law that children should be properly restrained,” said Lt. Jimmy Queen, Derby Police Department. “Safety belts and child restraints are your best protection against the unexpected, including all forms of driver inattention, even your own. If you don’t require passengers in your vehicle to buckle up, you’re assuming that all drivers you meet are going to drive responsibly. That may not be the best decision.”
The Safety Belt Use and Child Passenger Safety Acts mandate the following:
- All front seat passengers must be buckled in (vehicles may be stopped by law enforcement if a person under the age of 18 is observed unrestrained anywhere in the vehicle).
- If a driver or passenger ages 14 through 17 is unrestrained, both driver and passenger will be issued a citation.
- If a passenger under the age of 14 is unrestrained the driver will be cited.
- Passengers under the age of 14 are not allowed to ride in any part of a vehicle not intended for carrying passengers, such as a pickup bed.
- Children ages eight through 13 must be safety belted.
- Children ages four through seven must be securely belted into an approved booster seat.
- Children under the age of four must be secured in a federally-approved child safety seat.
That statistics sometimes say it all. The state of Kansas is ranked 44th in the nation for seat belt use. Here are some other statistics:
- Only 75 percent of front seat passengers buckle up.
- Approximately 68 percent of Kansas children are buckled in.
- Children, ages 0-4, are the most likely to be properly restrained.
- Children, ages 10 through 13 years, are only buckled in at a rate of 48 percent.
The Derby Police Department is committed to ticketing violators of Kansas passenger restraint laws, and all traffic infractions that make our roadways unsafe. Residents can visit the Derby Police Department, 229 N. Baltimore, at any time for a child safety seat installation and child safety seat check. On May 30 there will be a safety seat check station at City Hall, 611 Mulberry Rd., from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You may call the Police Department at 788-1557 with questions.
For more information on local child safety seat fitting stations, call the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office at 1-800-416-2522.
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