Alexandria police issue 50 citations to motorists during 'buckle-up' crackdown

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Alexandria police officers stopped a total of 95 motorists and cited 50 for various traffic-related offenses during a statewide Safe and Sober seat belt enforcement campaign October 10-19.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety coordinated the efforts of more than 400 agencies to increase seat belt use and prevent fatal and serious injury crashes. Special patrols were also employed during the effort to combat unbelted traffic deaths at night.

“The goal of these enforcement campaigns is to change driver behavior and encourage seat belt use,” said Sergeant Larry Dailey of the Alexandria Police Department. “In many cases, a ticket is the best tool to gain positive results.”

Alexandria police officers logged an additional 42 hours of traffic enforcement through the mobilization, which focused on motorists using their seat belts. The Douglas County Safe Communities Coalition along with numerous local businesses, as well as the area media, assisted with getting the “Buckle Up” message out to the motoring public.

The special nighttime patrols were conducted to combat a growing concern of unbelted traffic deaths during nighttime hours of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. In the last three years in Minnesota, 62 percent of fatal crash victims were not wearing seat belts.

While a majority of Minnesotans buckle up, more than half of the 1,212 vehicle occupants killed and 1,298 vehicle occupants seriously injured in crashes in 2005-07 were not wearing seat belts. DPS estimates around half of those killed would have survived if they were buckled up.

In the last three years in Douglas County, 18 people died and of those, seven were unbelted. Another seven were seriously injured. The estimated economic impact of 14 unbelted deaths and serious injuries in Douglas County in 2005-07 is $8,477,500.

The Safe and Sober effort is coordinated by the Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) as a component of the state’s Toward Zero Death initiative (TZD). TZD is a multi-agency approach to address traffic issues regionally through enforcement, education, engineering and emergency trauma care.

Tags: buckle, up, seat, belt, crackdown