The Kimball Police Department participated in the Safe and Sober campaign for enforcing the child restraints and seatbelt violations. The campaign was conducted from May 24 through June 2.
The Kimball Police Depart-ment issued 21 seatbelt citations and no child-restraint violations.
The Police Department conducted several seatbelt surveys before the Safe and Sober campaign started and after it completed.
The percentage of usage before the campaign started was approximately 84.6 percent. The percentage of usage after the campaign was over was 90 percent.
The Kimball Police Department is encouraged by the results of the most recent survey. With the increased usage of seatbelts, it means that we’ve saved some lives and prevented serious injuries. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of quadriplegia, paraplegia, and death for children and young adults from the age of six months through 34 years.
The Safe and Sober campaign is a national, state, and local program focused on highly-visible enforcement of traffic safety laws coupled with a strong effort to alert the public of the risks associated with failure to comply with them. Increased en-forcement and education are the two main points in a successful Safe and Sober campaign. Enforcement of Minnesota’s secondary seat belt law involves pulling vehicles over for other moving violations, then checking for seat belt usage violation, a secondary offense.
The Kimball Police Depart-ment has always enforced and will continue to enforce the seatbelt and child restraint issues. The public must understand that if the restraints are not worn, they have absolutely no protection in the motor vehicle involved in an accident.
I encourage everyone to buckle up, remind the passengers to buckle up, and have a safe, fun-filled summer.
Chief Todd Rohloff