JACKSON POLICE TO STUDY SAFETY BELT USE

JACKSON, Mo. -- In the coming weeks, Jackson police will watch carefully to see if drivers are buckling up.

The Jackson Police Department has received a $2,000 grant from the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program as part of a statewide effort to increase safety belt use. Agencies in 20 counties are participating in the STEP grant program.

Police will conduct a survey to establish a baseline for safety belt use. That will be followed by a week-long enforcement period when officers will target aggressive driving behaviors such as following too closely, speeding, improper passing and red light violations in addition to safety belt and child restraint infractions.

Tickets could be issued for these violations as well as for failing to ensure occupants of the vehicle buckle up.

Another survey will be done afterward to see whether safety belt use rates increased.

The Missouri Division of Highway Safety said using a vehicle's safety belt system can reduce the occupants' chances of being killed or injured by up to 70 percent.

The majority of the 1,153 people killed on Missouri roads last year were not wearing safety belts.