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Thursday, May 14, 1998
Op-Ed Article
Buckle Up Children: No Exceptions, No Excuses!
By DON HATHAWAY
Caddo Parish Sheriff
You may remember a "roll call" from television's Hill Street Blues -- the pre-shift meeting where officers assemble and discuss the day's assignments. Well, throughout the last week in May, in station houses across the nation, roll-calls will include an especially important assignment: Do more to enforce child passenger safety laws that protect the lives of children.
Why? Almost six out of 10 children killed in crashes are unbuckled, which means many of these deaths were totally preventable. More children die in automobile crashes in Louisiana than by any other cause. In Louisiana and every state, it is illegal for children to ride unrestrained, yet in four out of 10 cases, drivers don't restrain their child passengers. It is our responsibility, as law enforcement officers, to protect innocent children by stepping up enforcement of child passenger safety laws.
Why more enforcement? Experience shows that education alone is not enough to ensure that drivers buckle up children. Despite wide-spread public education campaigns, a full 40 percent of children continue to ride unbuckled. And, adult seat belt use is a critical factor in child safety. Crash studies show that if an adult driver is unbelted, 70 percent of the time children riding in that vehicle will be unbelted, too. Stepped-up, high-visibility enforcement of child passenger safety laws is a proven method to save lives. In states that have conducted this kind of enforcement, seat belt and child safety seat use have increased.
That is why the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office will join the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign -- a national coalition of safety advocates, law enforcement agencies, medical associations, children's organizations and businesses -- for Operation ABC ' 98 during Buckle Up America! Week, May 18-25.
Operation ABC' 98 -- a national mobilization of law enforcement to conduct high-visibility enforcement of child passenger safety laws -- will take place on an unprecedented scale. Law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, will "mobilize America to Buckle up Children." In every state, in communities large and small, law enforcement will engage in a variety of activities --- including child safety check points, stepped-up enforcement and saturation patrols -- to ensure that children are safely and properly buckled up.
Throughout Buckle Up America! Week, Caddo Parish Sheriff's deputies will not only increase enforcement with 50 overtime hours funded by a Louisiana Highway Safety Commission grant, but also will commend those drivers who have properly buckled up child passengers. Make no mistake, our deputies will cite those who don't comply with Louisiana's laws. No exceptions. No excuses.
In my 18 years as Caddo Parish Sheriff, I have found that deputies share at least this one thing in common with me: we are deeply committed to protecting children. Every deputy I know would much prefer to issue a thousand tickets than have to encounter the preventable death of one unbuckled child.
But, deputies are not alone in their commitment to look after children. All across the nation, people understand the stakes: By more than a two to one margin, Americans support high-visibility enforcement of child passenger safety laws, including child safety check points. People believe that protecting children should be a priority for law enforcement.
Safety advocates, health professionals and legislators across the nation agree that increasing overall seat belt use and reducing child occupant fatalities must be a national priority. Our activities this week, during Operation ABC' 98, will contribute significantly to achieving these goals in our community.
It may not be as glamorous as Hill Street Blues, but you can be sure that when deputies report for their shifts here in Caddo Parish and all across the country, they will gladly step up to the task of protecting children. So, look for us all this week, because we'll be out there enforcing Louisiana's child passenger safety laws to save lives.