The Greene County sheriff’s office and the Jefferson police department are participating in a special Traffic Enforcement Project (sTEP) May 18-31.
The sheriff’s office will have a safety checkpoint at some time during the sTEP wave. The safety checkpoint will consist of checking over the vehicle, making sure all the lights and equipment work properly. At the same time, deputies will check drivers for valid licenses and insurance.
JPD officer will focus on unbelted and impaired drivers.
According to a press release from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, crash data shows that passenger vehicle occupants are buckling up more during the day than at nighttime. This sTEP mobilization across Iowa and the entire United States is created to heighten seat belt enforcement 24-7, but focused enforcement efforts will take place between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. due to the significant number of violators and fatal crashes during this time.
Over the last 10 years, Iowa has averaged 5.3 traffic fatalities during the three-day Memorial Day weekend. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed on our nation’s roadways in 2013 were not wearing seat belts. That number jumped to 67 percent for males aged 13 – 15. Buckling up in the back seat is just as important. Half of all front-seat occupants killed in crashes in 2012 were unrestrained but 61 percent of those killed in back seats were unrestrained. Keep in mind that those fatalities aren’t just statistics; they are someone’s family member or friend.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau want you to remember that the single most effective way to reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes is to wear a seat belt every day, every trip.
