Iowa Authorities Look to Boost Seat Belt Usage, Reduce Injuries

Beginning May 23, and extending through June 5, law enforcement officers throughout Iowa will join police agencies across the country in the Buckle Up America Campaign designed to promote the use of seat belts.

This two-week long effort, known as 2005 Click it or Ticket Mobilization, Seat Belt Tickets Save Lives, will be implemented in Iowa as part of the special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP).

The sTEP model, which combines public information and education with traffic enforcement, has been used in Iowa since 1996. During that time, safety belt usage in the state has increased from 75% to 86%. Additionally, more than 5,200 people involved in Iowa crashes since 1986 have been spared death or serious injury because they wore a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Governor Thomas Vilsack noted, “Iowa’s 86% seat belt usage is above the national average; however, I challenge Iowa drivers to strive to reach 95% by 2008. The 95% usage rate would mean an extra 250,000 individuals buckling up and an additional 30 lives saved. Over 50% of people killed in motor vehicle crashes are not wearing seat belts. There is no doubt – seat belts save lives. Seat belts are the best protection in a motor vehicle crash. Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than an other single traffic safety-related behavior.”

During a similar effort conducted Feb. 12-14, 2005, officers representing 112 law enforcement agencies logged 1,290 occupant restraint violations, 109 impaired driving contacts, and nearly 2,400 speeding violations. The total number of traffic violations dealt with by officers during this project was more than 7,500. Assistance was provided to 363 motorists and 96 arrest warrants were served as part of this project.

Iowa’s next sTEP wave is scheduled for July 2-5.