Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the start of summer and is often the beginning of vacation season and motorists driving on the highways.
Police throughout Indiana are trying this week to get the summer started safely by promoting seat belt use and pointing out the dangers of drinking and driving.
While state police are participating in various programs to promote safe driving, a local police department is also concerned with keeping drivers and passengers safe on Indiana roads during Buckle Up America Week.
The Warsaw Police Department monitors seat belt use three times throughout the year, making a survey a few weeks before the campaign then one afterward to see if more drivers are using seat belts.
WPD Lt. Lance Grubbs said seat belt use is typically high around the time of proms and graduations in the area.
The most recent survey taken by Warsaw police indicated that 66.6 percent of Warsaw drivers were using their seat belts. They will take another survey after the enforcement blitz.
Grubbs said seat belt use locally is often dependent upon what happens in the area around the time of the survey. He said if there is a fatal or serious accident in the area and the media reports that seat belts may have saved a life, seat belt use will usually rise.
This summer, Indiana motorists have two new passenger safety laws to remember.
The first is called the primary seat belt law. After July 1, law enforcement officers will be able to stop a vehicle if they suspect the motorists are not complying with the state law to wear seat belts. Police officers will no longer have to stop vehicles for another violation then ticket drivers or passengers for not wearing seat belts as a secondary violation.
The second new law slightly changes the child passenger protection laws. Starting July 1, Indiana state law requires children up to age 4 to use a child passenger restraint system and children up to 12 to use a seat belt in all seating positions in a car. Violating either of these safety measures is a Class D infraction, which can carry up to a $25 fine.
Warsaw police received a grant to help pay for increased patrols and to help with costs of the safe driving campaign. Other police agencies in the area who received grant money to help are Winona Lake, Milford and Pierceton.
The blitz will focus on stopping drinking and driving and increasing seat belt use. Grubbs said it is a time for increased patrols and seat belt use and a time for a decrease in the number of accidents.
Operation Pull Over will try to raise awareness all over Indiana that drunk-driving causes traffic fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 41 percent of all crashes in 1996 were alcohol-related. In Indiana, 20- to 34-year-olds were involved in 9,777 alcohol-related crashes in 1996, according to the Indiana State Police.
Three out of five people killed in motor vehicle accidents would have survived if they were wearing seat belts.
The Indiana State Police, Elkhart County Sheriff's Department, and Bristol Police Department will conduct a seat belt survey at the intersection of Ind. 120 and Ind. 15 Friday at 9 a.m. The Nappanee Police Department announced they too will participate in pulling over motorists to check for seat belts and drunk drivers.
The Indiana State Police will add 250 troopers Memorial Day to patrol in marked cars, unmarked cars, high-performance sports cars and aircraft. They will also specially patrol construction zones on the highways.
