WSU joins Buckle Up Kansas program

By Joseph Kleinsasser

The director of Buckle Up Kansas will be at the Campus Police Department Friday, March 5, to acknowledge Wichita State joining the program which promotes and enforces the use of safety belts and child safety seats.

Campus Police Chief Chuck Rummery says the WSU Police Department will support the state program by enforcing the current law.

WSU police also will demonstrate the importance of using seat belts with the help of the Kansas Highway Patrol’s “Convincer” from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, March 18, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, March 19, on the Rhatigan Student Center east patio. The demonstration will enable students, faculty and staff to experience the feeling of a low-speed accident and why seat belts are necessary.

It’s the law in Kansas that people buckle up. By stepping up enforcement, Rummery says not only will we save lives, we will reduce serious injuries, save medical costs and help hold down insurance rate increases.

The Buckle Up Kansas program raises awareness of the life-saving value of seat belts. Wearing a seat belt is considered the most effective way to save lives and reduce injuries on Kansas roadways.

WSU police will participate in the campuswide education campaign by putting up signs and providing hand-outs at the University Information Center in the RSC and the Campus Police Department.

“Adults who don’t buckle up are sending children the message that it is all right not to wear a seat belt,” says Rummery. “Children model adult behavior. Research shows that when a driver is unbuckled, 70 percent of the time children riding in the vehicle will not be buckled either. For a child, a 30 miles per hour crash is like dropping him or her from a third-story window.”

Seat belts have proven to be effective, saving close to 9,500 lives each year nationwide. But progress to increase seat belt use has slowed. In 1996, more than 60 percent of the occupants killed were unrestrained, according to Rummery. Most of the child deaths in 1995 could have been averted had they been properly restrained in a child safety seat.

“Chances are someone you know will be involved in a car crash this year,” says Rummery. “If they are unbuckled, they are 50 percent more likely to be injured or killed.”