Law enforcement increasing patrols for summer buckle-up mobilization

Staff and wire report

Havre Police Department is urging people to follow the law and buckle up as the summer season arrives.

“Buckling a seat belt takes less than two minutes, Capt. Ryan Pearson of the Havre Police Department said in a press release. “It’s a simple yet crucial step towards safety for both drivers and passengers. Our priority is for you to arrive safely at your destination every trip, every time.”

The release said Havre police and Montana Highway Patrol are reminding all Montanans to buckle up as they start the busy summer travel season, every person, every trip, every time.

Memorial Day Weekend is generally considered the start of the summer season, with trips, campouts and activities starting as the weather usually warms up.

The release said increased patrols and enforcement of seat belt laws will be under way across the state to ensure the safety of all road users.

The Havre Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Department of Transportation are committed to the Vision Zero initiative, the release added, aiming to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Montana’s roads.

The goal of Vision Zero is to have zero deaths and zero serious injuries on Montana roadways.

Montana law requires all vehicle occupants to be properly restrained with a seat belt.

The release said that 47 percent of fatal crashes from 2016 to 2020 involved vehicle occupants who weren’t wearing seat belts, with 76 percent of those being a single-vehicle crash.

Of the 108 non-seat-belted vehicle occupant fatalities in 2020, 62 percent were partially or completely ejected from the vehicle they were traveling in, the release added. Seat belts have a proven track record of keeping occupants within a vehicle, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of surviving a serious crash.

Montana law requires all children younger than 6 and weighing less than 60 pounds to be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administration recommends keeping children in their car seats for as long as possible before moving them to the next type of car seat. Many children are not tall enough to graduate from a booster seat to a lap and shoulder belt alone until they are at least 4’9” tall, which is about 8 years old or older.

“Pease make a habit of always buckling up,” Pearson said in the press release. “For those driving with children, it’s essential to model positive behavior by buckling up before starting the car. This encourages them to adopt the habit, fostering their own safety as they grow up.”

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• Local law enforcement and Montana Highway Patrol are increasing patrols and presence during the end of May and beginning of June as part of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s “Click It or Ticket” enforcement mobilization.

• While non-seat-belt wearing is a secondary offense in Montana, wearing a seat belt is still required by law.

• Seat belts are one of the most-effective ways to increase the chance of survival in a crash, reducing the risk of death for a front-seat passenger by about 45 percent, the National Safety Council reports