The McKenzie Police Department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) for its annual Seatbelts Are For Everyone (SAFE) campaign. This statewide initiative is designed to increase seat belt usage and child passenger safety restraint usage through the implementation of occupant-protection programs, public events and checkpoints throughout local communities across Tennessee. The SAFE campaign begins February 1 and concludes August 1.
2019 will be the sixth year the THSO has sponsored the SAFE campaign. Last year yielded the following results: 1,182 child restraint violations, 13,165 seat belt citations and 305 other seat belt enforcement activities.
“In 2017, Tennessee’s average seat belt usage rate was 88.51 percent,” said THSO Director Vic Donoho. “Last year, the usage rate was 88.77 percent. Through increased education, enforcement and community involvement, we’re striving to achieve 100 percent.”
This year, participating agencies will pay special attention to nighttime seat belt enforcement. Tennessee has seen a disproportionate percentage of unrestrained fatalities between the hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. Historically, approximately 50 percent of Tennessee’s traffic fatalities are unbelted. That percentage increases to nearly 60 percent when nighttime crashes are examined.