The Saline County Sheriff’s Office will join other Kansas law enforcement agencies to stop what has been likened to an epidemic in Kansas.

In 2016, 44 children under the age of 20 lost their lives due to car crashes in Kansas. Nearly half of those children were not wearing their seat belts.

Monday through Friday, law enforcement across Kansas, including the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, will be extra-vigilant when patrolling around schools.

“In the health field, they talk about making sure children have received their immunizations to
prevent deadly diseases,” said Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan. “But what many parents don’t think about is that wearing a seatbelt properly is the best prevention of serious injury or death in a vehicle.”

According to the 2017 Kansas observational seatbelt survey, children are much more likely to be buckled up if the driver is wearing a seatbelt. If the driver is buckled, about 98 percent of the children are restrained. If the driver is not buckled, only about 29 percent of the observed children were buckled.

For more than 20 years, officers have educated and warned drivers and passengers regarding the importance of using seatbelts while in their vehicle. There should be no surprises when it comes to this enforcement effort, the sheriff’s office noted in a news release.

Officers will issue citations to anyone who does not obey Kansas law.

“Even one child’s death is unacceptable. Please slow down, especially in school zones, eliminate the distractions, and always buckle up,” Soldan said.