Dear Editor,
The Barton County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Transportation and 150 other law enforcement agencies throughout Kansas will be participating in the annual “Click it or Ticket” campaign. The campaign focuses on occupant restraint devices for adults, young adults and children and is funded by the National Highway Traffic Administration.
The goal of the “Click it or Ticket” campaign is simple, to reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries to drivers and occupants in motor vehicle crashes. Approximately one in five drivers in the state of Kansas fail to buckle up. These rates run higher in rural areas such as Barton County. Unfortunately, only one third of motor vehicle accidents occur on rural roadways. Two thirds of all fatalities occur on rural roadways. Occupant restraint use is just as important in rural areas as in urban.
The citizens of Barton County need to be aware that the Barton County Sheriff’s Office is committed to aggressive enforcement of seat belt and child restraint violations. During the timeframe of May 19 through June 1, 2014, extra officers will be assigned for the sole purpose of seat belt and occupant restraint enforcement. It is the goal of the Sheriff’s office to encourage drivers to comply with the Kansas seatbelt laws.
Drivers are reminded that some of the child restraint laws have changed in the last several years.  Information regarding these changes can be obtained from the KDOT website or by calling your local law enforcement agencies.
Sheriff Brian Bellendir