Lawrence police wrote 31 tickets to people who were not wearing their seat belts Tuesday night as part of a special, grant-funded enforcement effort, according to Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman. The grant is provided by the Kansas Department of Transportation.
At the same time, the officers also issued citations for other violations and made arrests. These included two misdemeanor warrant arrests, two driver’s license violations, and three other violations including a citation for marijuana possession.
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Comments
flyin_squirrel 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Does anyone else find it interesting that we announce we are going to enforce one of the laws on our books? Does our police chief decide at the beginning of each day what pages of the police code they will inforce that day?
IT IS THE LAW to wear your seatbelt, but only on Tuesday.
purplesage 3 months, 4 weeks ago
RIght, squirrel. It is the law.
And we already are paying law enforcement to to "enforce" those law. Why one earth do they need even more money, in the form of a grant (tax funded, I suppose) to do the job they are funded and paid to do?
Food_for_Thought 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Purplesage,
If I had to guess, I would say that the grant pays for the extra work hours (i.e., overtime) offered for officers to work on days off to actively patrol for such violations, so that the other patrol officers can be available to adequately respond to daily calls as the public expects them to.
jhorus 3 months, 4 weeks ago
When I got fined for not wearing a seat belt, it was only a $10 fine. So the city made $310 for the seat belt tickets. Was the grant worth it?
AjiDeGallina 3 months, 4 weeks ago
it is not a business transaction, it is a public safety issue. However, if you want to do the math, do ALL of it. How much money does it cost you and me in increased insurance premiums when someone without a seat belt has an accident as they are much more likely to suffer serious damage or death. If they do die, our tax dollars could very well be supporting their family.
of course, if the life saved is your sibling, significant other, parent or what have you, would it be worth it to you then?
jhorus 3 months, 4 weeks ago
I'm for individuals to decide if they want to wear a seat belt or not. Same with helmets on motorcycles. So no, it wouldn't be worth it to me. It's just another way for municipalities to collect fines for their coffers. I'm a very firm believer in small government.
appleaday 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Go ahead and make your own choice about seatbelts or helmets. But then sign a waiver saying that when you are disabled after your accident because you aren't using safety precautions and you lose your job because you are disabled (and thus lose your health insurance), that you won't ask the public to provide Medicaid or otherwise pay your bills.
flyin_squirrel 3 months, 4 weeks ago
This is selective enforcement of the laws. If wearing a seat belt is the law, it should be enforced every day by our police department, not just on Tuesday Feb, 22nd, 2013.
I also believe in less government, but I follow the law and wear mine. Guess I need to check the paper to see what days it is required.
Water 3 months, 4 weeks ago
I say we just let Social Darwinism run it's course. By ticketing those who don't wear a seatbelt, we are in a sense, granting them more chances to pass their stupid gene to offspring they might not have otherwise had. We're just weakening the herd.
nccooper 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Though it is a law, i have mixed feelings on this issue. I am probably one of very very few people that have a story that condones not wearing a seatbelt... My father was in a bad car accident when he was a younger man and his steering wheel was pushed into his back seat, he laid over in his seat just before impact and wouldve been crushed had he been wearing his seatbelt. I know the probability of that happening is very minute however, it did happen and could happen again. I think it should be left up to the person driving the car. If God has it in the cards for me to die in a car accident then i guess thats how i will go. We all think we control our outcomes but in reality, we are going when He is ready for us.
Frankie8 3 months, 3 weeks ago
We may not control our outcomes, but we do influence them greatly and I believe that God wants us to show some common sense and self control. That is why we have the seven deadly sins, you ignore them at your peril and others. I intend to start watching what I eat and moving more because I know that while I can't control the fact that I have osteoarthritis I can influence how much it hurts by not having so much weight on my knees. Same with wearing a seat belt.
Sorry, not meaning to be snarky here but this whole thing of , "well , I can do whatever I please and let God sort it all out," is perplexing to me.
nccooper 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I think u may have misunderstood, God has our plan already worked out for us. We can do whatever we want, however, God already knows what choices we will make and the ones that we wont. God already has it sorted out! He knows what we can handle and what we cant.
Hoots 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I love it when another motorcycle rider tells me wearing a helmet is dangerous. I just look at them and say. Lets go find a hammer and test this theory of yours. No takers yet.
consumer1 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I take that bet, I get first shot !!! I would never say wearing a helmet is dangerous, but, I would still like to test your theory if I can go first. :o)
msezdsit 3 months, 3 weeks ago
"At the same time, the officers also issued citations for other violations and made arrests. These included two misdemeanor warrant arrests, two driver’s license violations, and three other violations including a citation for marijuana possession."
In other words, this is what they were really pulling people over for and they just used the seat belt bs as their excuse. Big Brother on the local lever. I generally support the Lpd and compliment them on a job well done often. This is not a job well done, however, this is bs.
This is denying people their constitutional rights.
elliottaw 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Put your seatbelt on and they have no reason to pull you over, don't be mad if you don't choose to follow the laws and get in trouble for it
msezdsit 3 months, 3 weeks ago
That is not the point. I always wear my seatbelt because I figure I am a lot safer for wearing it. The point is that they spent a lot of taxpayer money under the guise of finding "seatbelt violations" in order to circumvent these people constitutional right to privacy to see what else they could find. The ten bucks a ticket didn't raise enough money to justify this raid, what else they could find was the justification.
elliottaw 3 months, 3 weeks ago
That's like saying they are doing sobriety checks just to search your car, if you are breaking the law and get pulled over your busted, it doesn't matter if was a seat belt, brake light out, speeding, illegal lane change or running a red light. You choose no to put your seatbelt on so deal with it.
msezdsit 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Yep, keep beatin that drum. Fact is the cops couldn't care less about seatbelts, they are just using as their excuse to harass people. Bully's
tuschkahouma 3 months, 3 weeks ago
let all of the liberatarian citizens of the fiefdom talk about what others should do. make a daily pedestrian conversation sound enlightened when it really isn't. make people discuss the dumb things. who needs productive conversation.
Peaty 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I say remove the airbag in the steering wheel and insert a 5" pointy spike, then people will drive better ;)
smitty 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Unfortunately our officer who lost his life didn't get ticketed for no seat beat or any other law ...any updates yet?
jhawkinsf 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Are you suggesting that despite dying, he should also have been ticketed for not having worn a seat belt as well as whatever other laws he may have violated?
smitty 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Not at all.....maybe he would still be alive if the law was applied without the double standards used by LE, etc. Unfortunately, the double standard of enforcement came home to roost with this death..no seat belts and there is an implied dui awaiting lab reports...that double standard enforcement is what is referred to...the DUI check stop needs to be occasionally run on Lone Star Rd just outside of the FOP facility, too.
webmocker 3 months, 3 weeks ago
How about "special enforcement" of the law against running red lights?
Slyder 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I wish the police would enforce the "Keep to the right except to pass law".....Some time back I saw in an editorial the were going to do just that. It seems that in Lawrence, The right lane has become the passing lane or....two slow cars drive in tandom to keep traffic behind them from passing! There are probably too many cars keeping to the left to enforce the rule!
Liberty275 3 months, 3 weeks ago
They missed me. That means I can get two more Lattes at Z's!
rduhrich 3 months, 3 weeks ago
They're enforcing (occasionally) the seat belt law, but speed limits are frequently raised and you can operate a motorcycle without a helmet in Kansas. Is the state trying to save me or kill me?
oldbaldguy 3 months, 3 weeks ago
they do this as a reason to search your vehicle if you are dumb enough to consent, as well as DUIs.
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