The Greene County sheriff’s office and the Jefferson police department will participate with state law enforcement officers in a Special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) project Nov. 24-30. The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) and law enforcement officers across Iowa remind drivers to take the time to buckle up, slow down and drive defensively in your travels around the state during the Thanksgiving holiday. The sheriff’s office will increase patrols to ensure seat belt usage.
“Too many lives are lost on Iowa roadways due to excessive speeds because drivers are in a hurry to get to their destinations. Speeding, ignoring stop signs or other traffic signs, not buckling up, or even driving drunk could cost you financially, or worse, they may even cost you your life or the life of someone else,” a GTSB press release stated.
How important is it to buckle up “Every Trip, Every Time?” Seventy-seven percent of all occupants ejected from a vehicle during a crash are killed. In 2013, Iowa had 317 traffic fatalities with 107 of them, more than 43 percent, not restrained by a seat belt.
Randy Hunefeld, sTEP coordinator with the GTSB, said, “Buckling up takes less than three seconds and reduces your chance of becoming a fatality statistic by nearly 50 percent.” Is it worth it? Hunefeld says, “You can bet your life on it.”
