OLATHE, Kan. — More than 150 different agencies are making a special effort to enforce the Kansas Seat Belt Law. It’s all part of the Click It or Ticket Campaign.
Olathe police are, as usual, being a little more creative in their tactics to catch drivers who aren’t buckled up. Disguised as a lineman in a bucket truck on Santa Fe and Clairborn in Olathe on Wednesday, a man dutifully scanned his surroundings, peering down into the cars below.
It isn’t a utility worker, the man is actually an Olathe police officer and he’s looking for people violating the law.
“It’s still a little disappointing when we can sit at a location like this and observe 300-400 violations in a matter of 5 or 6 hours,” said Sgt. David Haldeman, the traffic unit supervisor for Olathe police. “The primary goal is so that we can gain a position so that we can see the seat belt violations before they see a black and white or one of our motor units.”
Tricky? Yes. But police say it’s their job, and it’s the law.
“It’s a very simple matter, wear a seat belt. If you wear a seat belt then you’ve got nothing to be concerned about,” Haldeman said. “This tactic shouldn’t apply to you.”
According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, over two-thirds of those killed in crashes weren’t wearing a seat belt.
“We believe that this is one of the most important things that we can do as a police department to ensure the safety of our motoring public,” said Haldeman.
Plenty of Wednesday’s ticketed drivers were upset with the method, but police hope the lesson will in the end, save a life.
“I think anybody who has been to the scene of a motor vehicle crash and seen the consequences of an ejection, or even worse yet, a partial ejection when someone is only half out of the car when it’s rolling, you don’t forget something like that,” Haldeman said.
The campaign is funded by a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation. It started on May 21 and runs through June 3.
Olathe police have already written more than 1,200 tickets for seat belt violations and you’re not yet out of the clear, Olathe police say they may set up one or two more spotter check locations enforcing the seat belt law.