Seat belt emphasis patrol coming soon

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department will be participating in a seat belt emphasis patrol sponsored by the Idaho Transportation Department, Office of Highway Operations and Safety. From May 24 through June 6, Kootenai County deputies will be conducting emphasis traffic patrols at various locations around the county, focusing on moving violations and strictly enforcing seat belt requirements to help reduce the number of injury accidents in the county.

In 2007, 76 percent of those killed in single vehicle rollovers in Idaho were not buckled up. More than 80 percent of those killed in DUI crashes were not buckled up and 63 percent of those killed in speed-related crashes were not buckled.

The goal of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department's participation in the mobilization is to support the statewide highway safety goal of reducing motor vehicle related deaths and serious injuries by increasing the use of safety restraints.

• Saved by the belt: Seat belts, when used by passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older, saved an estimated 13,250 lives in 2008, more than 75,000 lives from 2004 through 2008, and 255,115 lives from 1975 through 2008.

• Reduced risk: Seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent - and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans.

• Staying inside the vehicle: In fatal crashes in 2008, 77 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were thrown from their vehicles were killed. However, only 1 percent of crash victims who were buckled up were totally ejected from their vehicles, compared to 30 percent of those who were unbuckled.