The Police Department is committed to passenger safety and reducing
motor vehicle accidents.
Nationally, these accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children 14 and under.
Seat belts reduce the risk of death or injury in a crash by as much as 65 percent. Seat belts reduce injuries and death by preventing passenger ejection from vehicles and preventing occupants from being thrown against each other and the interior of the vehicles.
According to statistics from the Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas has a 75 percent adult seat belt usage rate; the national average is 82 percent.
For children, there's a 68 percent overall compliancy rate with the highest compliancy in the 0-4 age group.
Johnson County has the highest compliancy rate in the state at 82 percent.
We can save more lives and reduce injuries by strongly encouraging all Kansans, regardless of age or location in the vehicle, to buckle up.
Kansas seat belt lawsRecently, Kansas enacted tougher seat belt laws that require:
- Children under the age of 4 must be secured in a federally approved child safety seat ~ KSA 8-1344 (Make sure your seat is installed correctly);
- Children, ages 4-7, must be secured in a federally approved booster seat if they are less than 4-feet-9-inches tall or weigh less than 80 pounds ~ KSA 8-1344 (Make sure your seat is installed correctly);
- Children, ages 8-14 or who weigh more than 80 pounds or is more than 4-feet-9-inches tall, must be in a seat belt anywhere in the vehicle ~ KSA 8-1344;
- Children, ages 14-18, must have a seat belt properly fastened at all times when the vehicle is in motion, regardless of where they are sitting ~ KSA 8-2501;
- Adults, ages 18 and older, seated in the front seat of a vehicle, must have a seat belt properly fastened at all times when the vehicle is in motion ~ KSA 8-2501.
OP Municipal Code 12.04.119, Relating to Passengers (.pdf file)