Seat belt snafu hinders police

? A mix-up has kept the Topeka Police Department from enforcing the state’s year-old seat belt law targeting young motorists.

The department’s legal adviser failed to include the revision of a 2007 primary seat belt law for those age 17 and younger in a cheat sheet of new laws given to officers.

“Why he didn’t include it, I don’t know,” Capt. Ron Brown said.

Brown said the department will send an e-mail to officers apprising them of the seat belt law.

The measure allows law enforcement officers to pull over teenagers solely for driving without a seat belt. The law went into effect on July 1, 2007, with a six-month grace period that had officers issue warnings. Starting Jan. 1, those caught violating the statute could face a $60 fine.

Before the law went into effect, officers could issue a seat belt ticket only after pulling someone over for another violation.

Many cities buy the Standard Traffic Ordinance book, published each year by the League of Kansas Municipalities, to keep up with changing statutes.

But the league said Topeka last bought copies of the book in 2006. The city bought 350 copies for $2,100.

John Knoll, the department’s legal adviser, updates a cheat sheet of new laws every year, Brown said, but he left the seat belt law off.

The Kansas Highway Patrol has been issuing tickets under the new law, although no numbers are available stating how many teens have been cited.