Westwood Cracking Down on Seat Belt Use

While Westwood Police and local residents are open to a ban on texting while driving, the town is also looking to tighten enforcement on seat belt use.

The Westwood Board of Selectman this week voted to adopt a zero-tolerance seat belt policy for the town of Westwood.

"I will note right now that the (Westwood) Police Chief has indicated his support for adopting this policy," Nancy Hyde, the Board's chairperson, said at a meeting Monday night. 

The Click-It or Ticket policy is a national campaign focused on increasing the use of seat belts among young drivers. The policy would require Westwood Police to issue written citations to motorists who are caught driving without wearing a seat belt, whereas previously officers were only asked to issue verbal warnings.

Patrick J. Ahearn, the Board of Selectmen's third member, said he was in favor of the policy, and believes it will be crucial in saving more lives on the road.

"There have been a number of high visibility accidents lately where people have been thrown from the vehicle and severely injured," Ahearn said Monday night. "There's no question in my mind that seat belts, when properly installed, save lives, so I'm fully in support of this."

A survey from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in August 2009 found that at least 74 percent of state drivers were using their seat belts – a seven-percent increase from 2008, when only 67 percent of drivers were using them. But despite the increase, the state average was still less than the national average of 83 percent. As such, Westwood Police is on board with strictly enforcing seat belts for drivers in the town.

"What's specifically in this (policy)," said Westwood Police Chief William Chase, "is that if you are stopped by a police officer in Westwood, and there is a seat belt violation, you will receive a written, as opposed to being given just a verbal warning."

Chase said the time frame of when the policy will be in effect has yet to be determined, but that residents should take notice of the fact that they should be wearing seat belts at all times when in a vehicle.

"We'll leave it to the officers' discretion as to whether or not there's a penalty attached, or it's simply a written warning," Chase added. "But it will be a written citation and there will be a record."