Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND —
Edmond Police recorded 107 stops for seat belt violations during Friday’s inaugural Route 66 Roundup seat belt multi-agency enforcement effort, police said.
Law enforcement officers from 15 Oklahoma agencies teamed up to crack down on seat belt violations along historic Route 66. The effort began at midnight, and high-visibility enforcement took place along the Highway 66 “Mother Road.”
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Garrett Vowell said the crackdown was part of an effort to enhance seat belt enforcement and improve Oklahoma’s usage rate year-round.
The saturation patrols and checkpoints were conducted from the western border of Canadian County to the eastern border of Oklahoma County, with other agencies joining in similar mobilizations elsewhere, Vowell said.
Police Departments taking part in the effort included El Reno, Yukon, Bethany, Warr Acres, Edmond, Oklahoma City, Arcadia, Claremore, Catoosa, Chelsea, Verdigris and Weatherford. Other agencies include the Canadian County and Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Offices and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Glynda Chu, spokeswoman for the Edmond Police Department, said it is unfortunate that local police made 107 contacts in one day, but it is obvious the enforcement reminders are necessary, and Edmond will participate in the future.
“Seat belts do save lives, and we will continue to strictly enforce the seat belt law here in Edmond, not just periodically, but every day,” Chu said.
Vowell said some of the numbers reflect merely seat belt stops while others include child passenger seat violations during the effort. The seat belt numbers were intended to reflect citations issued, he said. Most of the participating agencies had not yet reported their numbers, and a complete list should be available in a couple of days, Vowell said.
Oklahoma City reported 87 contacts, Weatherford 34 contacts, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office 49 contacts and Claremore had 11, Vowell said.
Vowell said similar efforts will take place at least four times a year in the future and eventually will include all 400 miles of Oklahoma’s Route 66. Some agencies want to make it a monthly effort, he said. That may happen, but for the time being they will be one per quarter.
One benefit of the effort is that more members of the state’s law enforcement community were able to meet face to face to network, Vowell said.
The most recent statistics show that Oklahoma’s seat belt use rate is 85.9 percent for 2010, a 1.7 percent increase above 2009’s rate.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121 ext. 108
