Put away that cell phone and buckle up: Police will be watching

Local police will be on the lookout for seatbelt and cell phone law compliance in the coming months.

Each year, Molalla Police Department applies for grants to provide funding from the Three Flags Campaign for overtime shifts allowing officers to focus on seatbelt enforcement.

“This is additional money that the state has given to take care of a particular problem,” Sgt. Gordon White said.

Starting this month and continuing through August, MPD will hold periodic blitzes focusing on proper seat belt fit, booster seat usage, child restraints, minors in open pickup beds and other safety concerns.

“If you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident and you’re not wearing a seatbelt, you’re more than twice as likely to be seriously injured or die,” White said.

The blitzes are part of the Three Flags Campaign, a statewide traffic enforcement program seeking to reduce deaths and injuries caused by car accidents by increasing public awareness of safety restraint use, speed and impaired driving laws.

Oregon’s seatbelt laws are rather confusing, White said.

The general rule of thumb is that everyone is required to wear a seatbelt, but the rules get a bit more complicated when it comes to child safety seats.

In Oregon, infants are required to travel in rear-facing safety seats until they reach both one year of age and 20 pounds. Forward-facing safety seats are required for children over one year who are between 20 and 40 pounds.

In addition, even once children pass the 40-pound mark, they must use a booster seat until they are 8 years old or reach 4 feet, 9 inches in height. The police station offers fliers explaining the requirements and more information is available at www.childsafetyseat.org.

Prior to the blitzes, participating police agencies attend workshops provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Safety Division.

Also prior to the blitz, MPD selects various locations around town to observe from an unmarked vehicle, White said. The officer keeps a tally of the first 100 vehicles that pass by, taking note of the seatbelt usage among the occupants of each vehicle. Following the blitz, a similar traffic survey is conducted so results can be compared.

MPD officers recently completed a similar survey focusing on cell phone law compliance. This January, a new state law went into effect forbidding the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.

White said officers have been writing few tickets for cell phone violations. In a preliminary survey, MPD found that 99 percent of drivers were in compliance when they conducted the 100-car study at the Molalla Avenue and Robbins Street intersection and 92 percent of drivers were in compliance when they studied Highway 213 by the Molalla Les Schwab.

In other areas around town, compliance ranged from 94 to 98 percent.

Share   |   Email


Comments

We welcome comments from registered users. Comments are solely the responsibility of those who post them; their viewpoints are not endorsed by the Molalla Pioneer and MolallaPioneer.com. (read more)
Highlight
ship name
 
Dananderson from Molalla
2/26/2010 11:17:46 AM

I have a really hard time believing seat belt use is still an issue these days. Seatbelt laws have been in effect for decades and wearing a seatbelt has just become a regular part of driving. Our cars have lights and chimes that alert us if a seatbelt is somehow forgotten. It just seems like there are other issues out there that would be a better target for these funds.

Twitter Updates

    Follow us on Twitter!

    Top Jobs