Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
If you?re a driver who forgets to buckle up ? or make sure the kids do ? chances may be greater this week that you?ll see some flashing lights in your rear-view mirror.
Sweet Home police officers are running their annual Three Flags Campaign, a traffic blitz focusing on traffic safety, through Feb. 19. This week, Feb. 12 to Feb. 18, is National Child Passenger Safety Week.
A second blitz is scheduled for May 22 to June 4, and a third for Sept. 11 to Sept. 24. During the blitz, officers in participating police departments can work overtime to focus on traffic.
?Seatbelts and child passenger seats ? that?s the main focus,? said Sweet Home Sgt. Jason Van Eck. Prior to the beginning of the blitz, the department completed a survey showing 83-percent seatbelt use.
That number is down from last year?s Three Flags Campaign surveys, before and after, Van Eck said. Last year, Sweet Home had a usage rate of 95 percent before and after the blitz.
The state average runs at 93 percent or better, Van Eck said.
?I think that has to do with us not running a whole lot of traffic and not enforcing it,? Van Eck said. Police officers have been swamped with calls and unwilling to work extra overtime at this point.
When police can get out and enforce traffic, ?I see a reduction in traffic violations,? Van Eck said. When police are out and about, ?it kind of reminds (drivers) they need to watch what they?re doing.?
The campaign is an international program involving hundreds of law enforcement agencies in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
Since October 1993, the campaign has sought to reduce the number of motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries by increasing public awareness of laws regarding seatbelt use and other traffic issues, including drunken driving and speeding.
Three Flags provides federal funding to pay overtime during the two-week of intensive, high-visibility enforcement.
Oregon?s crash fatality and injury rates have dropped 46 percent and 45 percent respectively since passage of the adult belt law in 1989. The law, coupled with active enforcement, has resulted in 2005 Oregon safety belt use rates of 93 percent for front-seat occupants and 96 percent for all seating, making Oregon one of the top five belt-using states in the nation. National front-seat belt use averages 80 percent.
?Studies show that the force created from an impact is so great that just physical strength can?t keep you from hitting your head against the steering wheel or windshield,? Van Eck said. ?And obviously, the faster you?re going the more force there is.?
At 5 mph, a driver or passenger may be able to hold himself or herself against being thrown forward, Van Eck said, but at 20 to 25 mph, it is an issue. When colliding with an oncoming car at those speeds, the force gets up over 40 mph.
Child restraints are designed for children of different sizes, Van Eck said. They should be in a car seat or booster until they?re 12 because seatbelts are designed for adults.
Still, that rule of thumb depends on the individual children, Van Eck said. One sixth-grade boy in the Sweet Home area is more than 6 feet tall.
The law requires children to be in a booster seat until they are 6 years old and weigh at least 60 pounds, Van Eck said. Both criteria must be met.
Van Eck spent time last Thursday running traffic, starting at approximately 3:15 p.m.
Before he could get settled in to watch traffic, Van Eck had to respond to a welfare check at Trailer Villa. Other officers were tied up on other calls. On behalf of a caller, Van Eck checked on an elderly couple who were not answering the phone. They were fine, and Van Eck headed downtown.
He parked at A&W restaurant at the intersection of Main and 10th. He did not observe any drivers who were not wearing belts, but soon, he observed a driver continuing past pedestrian Gus Erret, who was in the middle of the crosswalk. At least two other drivers drove through the crosswalk at the same time.
He gave a warning for failure to yield to a pedestrian to the driver.
When pedestrians are in the crosswalk in lanes adjacent to a driver, the vehicle is required to stop. Drivers can proceed only after the pedestrian clears the adjacent lane.
Out about 50 minutes, Van Eck pulled into the parking lot behind the Rio Theater to watch traffic on Long Street. There he noted drivers pulling out of the high school while pulling their seatbelts on.
While there, a woman approached Van Eck?s patrol vehicle with questions about self-defense when a group planned on beating someone up.
She walked away, and Van Eck was called out to a domestic dispute at the east end of Long Street. A male had been beating on the top of a car, but the dispute turned out to be only verbal. Officers left the scene, and Van Eck went to the VFW Hall and then the Union Hall to watch for seatbelt violations again.
He had been out about an hour and 20 minutes when he saw a man and woman drive by without seatbelts. He warned them for the seatbelt violation, and then responded with other officers to a disturbance on Mountain View Drive at about 5 p.m.
Leaving there, Van Eck spotted two suspects in the theft of bicycles from behind McCammon?s Furniture. He called another officer who had been looking for two people suspected a stealing bicycles..
Both were arrested for second-degree theft, and bicycles were returned to the owner.
Driving away from the scene, Van Eck spotted a defective brake light and pulled over a minivan. The woman driving was warned for failure to carry proof of insurance and an equipment violation.
Van Eck returned to the department a little after 6 p.m., in almost three hours, responding to four calls and pulling over three drivers, highlighting one of the main issues for officers when they?re patrolling. They constantly respond to calls for service with little time for traffic enforcement.
Officers on Three Flags overtime are supposed to focus on traffic, Van Eck said, but if they?re on the clock and another officer needs help, calls get priority.