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SEAT BELT CHECKS YIELD EXTRAS
by Outspoken on Fri May 23, 2008 4:56 am
SEAT BELT CHECKS YIELD EXTRAS
BY CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal
MONMOUTH -- Turns out a campaign to enforce Maine's seat belt laws is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get.
Take Monmouth Police Chief Robert Annese, for example. As head of one of 72 police departments around the state that began cracking down on unbuckled motorists this week, Annese and another officer have pulled over one vehicle for a suspected seat-belt violation and found a stash of cocaine.
On Thursday, a traffic stop for a seat-belt violation produced one arrest for drunken driving.
"We're really getting a lot out of the dedicated traffic enforcement stops," Annese said. "It's taking us into a lot of different areas, not just seat belts. We even got a shellfish violation, believe it or not."
The "Click It or Ticket" program, which began Monday and runs through June 1, provides police departments with state Bureau of Highway Safety money to conduct patrols dedicated primarily to enforcing the state's new seat-belt law.
The law, passed last year, made not wearing a seat belt a "primary offense," meaning police have free rein to pull drivers over for the lone infraction of not wearing a seat belt. In the past, police could only cite someone for failing to wear a seat belt if they were pulled over for some other reason.
Fines now range from $50 to $250 for adults and $70 to $310 for children.
In just the first four days, the dedicated patrols in Monmouth pulled over 37 vehicles over for various suspected violations, including seat-belt and registration infractions and speeding.
Of those pulled over, 17 were issued summonses for seat-belt violations; another 10 received warnings.
"We're finding it right now to be highly successful," Annese said.
Gardiner police stopped 36 cars during four details spread over the first three days of the campaign.
Those stops led to 36 summonses -- 33 of which were for seat-belt violations, Gardiner Police Chief James Toman said.
"It's a little surprising that people are still getting pulled over, based on all the media attention that's been given to this two-week event," Toman said.
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/5086888.html
BY CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal
MONMOUTH -- Turns out a campaign to enforce Maine's seat belt laws is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get.
Take Monmouth Police Chief Robert Annese, for example. As head of one of 72 police departments around the state that began cracking down on unbuckled motorists this week, Annese and another officer have pulled over one vehicle for a suspected seat-belt violation and found a stash of cocaine.
On Thursday, a traffic stop for a seat-belt violation produced one arrest for drunken driving.
"We're really getting a lot out of the dedicated traffic enforcement stops," Annese said. "It's taking us into a lot of different areas, not just seat belts. We even got a shellfish violation, believe it or not."
The "Click It or Ticket" program, which began Monday and runs through June 1, provides police departments with state Bureau of Highway Safety money to conduct patrols dedicated primarily to enforcing the state's new seat-belt law.
The law, passed last year, made not wearing a seat belt a "primary offense," meaning police have free rein to pull drivers over for the lone infraction of not wearing a seat belt. In the past, police could only cite someone for failing to wear a seat belt if they were pulled over for some other reason.
Fines now range from $50 to $250 for adults and $70 to $310 for children.
In just the first four days, the dedicated patrols in Monmouth pulled over 37 vehicles over for various suspected violations, including seat-belt and registration infractions and speeding.
Of those pulled over, 17 were issued summonses for seat-belt violations; another 10 received warnings.
"We're finding it right now to be highly successful," Annese said.
Gardiner police stopped 36 cars during four details spread over the first three days of the campaign.
Those stops led to 36 summonses -- 33 of which were for seat-belt violations, Gardiner Police Chief James Toman said.
"It's a little surprising that people are still getting pulled over, based on all the media attention that's been given to this two-week event," Toman said.
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/5086888.html
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
