A few different articles and studies have focused their attention on an important motor vehicle safety issue: law enforcement buckling up while their monitor our roadways and safety.
The Below 100 campaign focuses on keep the loss of officer life to fewer than 100 per year, and an important piece of that strategy is keeping officers safe behind the wheel. The article highlights the deadly combination of high speeds and driving through intersections as officer respond to crime or accidents. Seat belts help to reduce the risk of serious injury by more than 50%.
The same officer also posted on the "3 words we must eliminate from 'officer down' reports." Far too many responses to officer injury are due to "single" car wrecks, injury while "responding" to another call, and officers being "ejected" from their vehicles during a wreck.
Recently, California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training ran estimates on the use of seat belts among officers, stating that while 86 percent of Americans buckle up, roughly half of law enforcement officers do not wear their seat belts. The Los Angeles Police Department will be implementing a program that the California Highway Patrol recently completed and achieved nearly 100 percent seat belt compliance.
Colorado's young driver safety news and information site.
