March 15th through March 31st the Lee’s Summit Police Department will step up traffic enforcement efforts before and after school in support of “Operation Safe Teen”. The effort is a seat belt mobilization to crack down on Missouri seat belt law violators and to reduce injuries and fatalities sustained in motor vehicle crashes.
Nearly one in four Missourians still fail to regularly wear their safety belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Teens are even less likely to wear their seat belts with only 61% buckling up. Eight out of ten teens killed in traffic crashes are unbuckled.
The Lee’s Summit Police Department recognizing the alarming trend of teens failing to wear seat belts and will increase traffic enforcement efforts, or “Operation Safe Teen” to combat the statistics and remind drivers of their responsibility of operating a motor vehicle safely. Members of the LSPD Traffic Safety Unit will participate in this operation as part of their normal assignment augmented by patrol officers as calls allow. Traffic enforcement is a continual effort in our community but an increased presence will be noted before and after school during the enforcement period. To reduce the incident of teenage motor vehicle crashes by even a small percentage will benefit the youth of our community.