Cliff Buchan
News Editor

The car pulls into the right lane to turn north on SW 12th Street. The car slows, but doesn’t stop as it rolls through the stop sign and continues on its way.

Two driveways to the north sits Forest Lake Police Sgt. Greg Weiss in a marked squad car, watching the intersection at 12th and SW 11th Ave. The police lights come on and Weiss swings in behind the north bound vehicle.

The moving violation is the reason the motorist is stopped. But at the same time, Weiss has observed that the driver is not wearing a seat belt.

In the moments that follow, the motorist will be given a ticket or a warning for one or both of the violations that Weiss has observed. In many cases, if the attitude of the driver is good, the stop will be a time for the officer to offer some sound advice about the need to buckle up.

It’s all part of a spring traffic saturation here in partnership with the Safe & Sober program. Forest Lake is one of 440 police agencies in the state that is utilizing federal funding for a seat belt enforcement detail during a three-week period that came to a close June 3.

Weiss was one of several Forest Lake officers who logged a combined 72 hours of extra patrol time at various intersections in the city.

Under state law, a motorist can’t be stopped for not wearing a seat belt and officers must note a moving violation or an equipment violation in order to make the stop.

At intersections like 12th St. and 11th Ave., moving violations are easy to find, Weiss says. While the detail is designed to pound away at the need to buckle up, motorists are also reminded of the fact that stop signs and other road rules are obeyed.

A good habit

As a cop for the past 14 years, seat belt compliance is one of the road violations that Weiss sees frequently. There are constant reminders of the need to wear seat belts, but gaining full compliance is difficult, he says.

“For most people, it’s just a habit,” Weiss says. The habit can relate to snapping the seat belt buckle or not taking the time to buckle up, he adds.

“Some people never get in the habit,” Weiss says. “If I don’t have a seat belt on, I’m uncomfortable.”

Weiss believes seat belt enforcement details are beneficial. When stops are made, many motorists and passengers are thankful for the reminder.

He believes most take the message to heart after being stopped by a police officer.

As part of the enforcement program, Weiss conducted a visual survey of seat belt use prior to the start of the detail.

“Our compliance numbers are good,” he said. “They are not perfect.”

That survey found that about 75 percent of motorists and passengers were wearing seat belts. He plans to do another informal visual survey at the end of the detail to help gauge the impact of the extra enforcement.

While age is not a factor in who gets stopped and who gets tagged, Weiss says he works extra hard when teens are involved. Getting the point across to young people is important, he says.

In one stop last week, Weiss nabbed a high school senior who rolled through a stop sign. Of the four high school students in the car, three were belted, including the driver.

The three were given T-shirts that indicated they “got caught” wearing seat belts. The fourth student was handed a ticket for non-compliance.

“She was not enthused,” he said.

While the ticket does not go on the youth’s record, it will likely mean a fine in the area of $107.

“I’m in a hurry,” is often used as a defense or an excuse for not fully stopping for a stop sign or taking the time to buckle up, Weiss said.

Why needed

Efforts to encourage seat belt use are borne out in statistics, Weiss says.

In 2006 in Minnesota, 373 vehicle occupants died in traffic crashes and 194 (52 percent) of those were unbelted. Weiss says the state department of public safety estimates that half of those would have survived if they had been restrained with seat belts.

In Washington County during the past five years, 90 people have been killed in traffic crashes. Twenty-three of the 90 were unbelted.

“I have yet to pull a dead person from a seat belt in 14 years of police work,” Weiss said.

The estimated economic impact of the unbelted traffic deaths is nearly one-quarter of a billion dollars, the department of public safety says.

Statewide in 2006, police officers issued 11,500 seat belt violations, a fact that clearly shows many are not belted as required by law.

The “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign in 2007 has national backing.

The spring Safe & Sober enforcement and education program is funded by grant dollars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It is one of a number of on-going Safe and Sober details that Forest police join.

In July and August, officers here will take part in the “Seven Days of Summer” detail. It will target speed violations.

Under this summer saturation, officers from Forest Lake, Stillwater, Cottage Grove, Oak Park Heights, Oakdale, St. Paul Park and Newport will form large details for unannounced concentrated traffic details in each of the seven communities in Washington County that are taking part.

FL numbers

During the three-week Safe & Sober seat belt saturation program from May 21 to June 3, Forest Lake officers working extra patrols produced the following results:

•156 vehicle stops were made for various traffic offenses.

•38 seat belt violation citations were issued.

•41 citations for other violations were issued.

•97 warnings were issued.

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