The Lawrence Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will have enhanced patrols to boost enforcement of seat belt usage over the next week.
The “Thanksgiving Safe Arrival” campaign will run from Saturday, Nov. 22 through Saturday, Nov. 29, when law enforcement expects more drivers to be on the roads.
Extra officers and deputies will be out looking for seat belt infractions and distracted and impaired drivers.
“Annually in Kansas, about 50% of traffic fatalities involve someone not wearing a seat belt; 25% are directly due to inattentive driving or speeding; and 20% of crashes involve alcohol impairment,” according to DGSO. “From 2019 to 2023, Douglas County recorded 96 impaired driving crashes, and 37% of the 49 fatalities that occurred during this time involved someone not wearing a seat belt.”
The Kansas Department of Transportation provides funding for overtime to make the enhanced patrols possible.
In addition, it’s a busy deer season, and drivers should be especially alert from dusk to midnight and before and after dawn, according to DGSO’s news release.
“Drivers should avoid swerving because crashing into another vehicle or rolling your vehicle can be more dangerous than hitting a deer,” according to the release.
See this link for some options to get home safely in Lawrence.
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Kaydi Rudisell
