Lexington Police crack down on seat belt use
It’s part of the nationwide ‘Click It or Ticket’ seat belt enforcement campaign to help save lives by citing and educating people who don’t buckle up.
“As motorists take to the roads to celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend, we want to ensure that everyone arrives at their destination safe and sound,” says Lexington Police’s Lt. Chris Van Brackel.
In 2014, 672 people were killed on Kentucky’s roadways, of those 61% weren’t wearing seat belts, Lexington Police say.
Kentucky’s first seat belt law was created in 1994, but it was only a ‘secondary enforcement’ violation, which means that police could only ticket you for not wearing a seat belt if they had already pulled you over for another violation.
In 2006, Kentucky’s General Assembly changed Kentucky’s seat belt law to a ‘primary enforcement’ violation. That changed allowed police to pull you over solely for not wearing a seat belt.
Van Brackel is a certified reconstructionist and he’s worked many fatal accidents and has seen the proof that seat belts save lives.
“I’ve seen several accidents where one person in the car wasn’t wearing a seat belt and one was,” Van Brackel says. “The one not wearing a seat belt was ejected and killed and the person wearing a seat belt wasn’t injured at all."
The nationwide ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign starts Monday and ends on May 31st. Lexington Police say officers will be out in force, making sure you and your family stay safe behind the wheel.
ABC 36’s Paris Lewbel rode along with Lexington Police as they started their enforcement on Monday, take a look in the video above.
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