Lawrence police officers to aggressively enforce seat belt laws

Police officers will be paying increased attention to drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belts, especially during the evening hours.

As a part of a grant funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation, Lawrence officers are now “aggressively enforcing” seat belt laws in the area, the Lawrence Police Department said in a news release

Through KDOT’s initiative, called the Nighttime Seatbelt Enforcement Program, LPD’s officers will be spending more time, particularly on weekend evenings, making sure motorists and their passengers are following the state’s seat belt laws, the release said.

The majority of people who die in car crashes were not wearing their seat belts, the release said, and the percentage of fatalities is about 20 percent higher in nighttime crashes.

In Kansas, officers are allowed to stop vehicles solely due to seat-belt violations.

Up to the age of 1, children are required to ride in a rear-facing car seat in the back seat, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Between the ages of 1 and 3, children are required to sit in a forward-facing car seat in the back seat.

From the age of 3 until they are 7 years old or taller than 4 feet 9 inches or weigh more than 80 pounds, children are required to sit in a booster seat in the back seat, the KHP says.

Past the booster seat phase, children are required to wear seat belts in vehicles at all times until they are adults, the KHP says.

All drivers and adult passengers in the front seat are required to wear seat belts when a car is in motion. In Lawrence, seat-belt violations may result in a citation ranging from $10 to $60, according to fine data from the city.