Statewide Enforcement Effort Targets Seat Belt Violators during Thanksgiving Week 2012

A news release from the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau:

While you’re on the road to Grandma’s house next week, you’re likely to see state troopers and other law enforcement officials on the lookout for people who aren’t wearing their seatbelts.

Although 92 percent of Iowa motorists are using safety belts during daytime hours, there are plenty of other drivers and passengers who aren’t, especially in rural communities, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau said in a news release.

Next week, law enforcement officials across the state – police officers across the state, troopers, county sheriffs and their deputies and Iowa Department of Transportation enforcement officers will conduct a Thanksgiving holiday enforcement effort aimed at encouraging everyone to buckle up.  

This one-week enhanced enforcement period, spanning November 19–25, 2012, is another wave of Iowa’s special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP). The sTEP program joins public outreach efforts with efforts of local enforcement agencies. The goal is to convince all motorists of the importance of buckling up.  

In addition to safety belt violations, officers will also be watching for impaired drivers and other moving violations.

Patrick Hoye, chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, stressed the importance of buckling up during the daytime hours and especially at night.  

“Seat belts save lives and that is the bottom line,” he said in the release.

As of Nov. 1, 37 percent of the 299 people who have died in traffic accidents this year were not wearing seat belts.  

The message is clear, according to the release: Buckling up increases your odds of surviving a major crash.

During the previous sTEP wave in August and September, Iowa officers confronted 2,358 seat belt violations, 847 impaired drivers, 13,443 speeding violations, and a total of over 34,335 other traffic violators.  

Vehicle assistance was given to 1,980 motorists and 419 arrest warrants were served.