[Vision2020] Question for the Vision

Mon Nov 20 12:38:28 PST 2006

Thank you, Tom,

I, unfortunately, unbuckled a fatality several years back.  It was a crash
on Highway 8, and the deceased was pregnant and near-term.  I can, however
say that she would not have survived the crash either belted or not.  More
to the point, I've been or read the reports of other fatality crashes that
did not have to be fatal-had the person buckled up.  A deputy form my
department told me that he knew of a man who had a seatbelt "decoy" that he
rested over his shoulder to give the appearance of being buckled up (the man
lived in WA, where an officer can pull you over for no wearing a safety
belt)!  Thanks for your response-I look forward to hearing other responses
(hopefully some that argue the other side articulately so I better
understand the resistance to these laws).

~Jennie

Det. Jennifer L. McFarland
Latah County Sheriff's Office
Public Information Officer
PO Box 8068
Moscow, Idaho 83843
(208) 882-2216
Fax (208) 883-2281
 <http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/Sheriff_Main.htm>
http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/Sheriff_Main.htm

Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to affairs.
***Ralph Waldo Emerson

  _____  

From: Tom Hansen [mailto:thansen at moscow.com] 
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 12:29
To: 'Jennifer McFarland'; 'Vision 2020'
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision

Jennifer -

I am all for increased fines/penalties for violations of Idaho's seat belt
laws.  It is a simple matter of safety.

I remember a commercial down in Los Angeles a few years back where it showed
a veteran police detective at a traffic accident discussing California's
seat belt laws.  He closed out the commercial with a statement to the
effect:  "Having served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 30+
years, I have never unbuckled a fatality at an accident."

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

"Madness does not always howl.  Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end
of the day saying, 'Hey, is there room in your head for one more?'"

- Author Unknown

  _____  

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Jennifer McFarland
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 12:16 PM
To: 'Vision 2020'
Subject: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision

Dear Visionaries,

I hope you are all doing well as we enter the holiday season.  I issued a
press release a little over a week ago alerting the public of our "Click It
Don't Risk It!" seat belt compliance campaign.  I'm happy to say that of the
15 cars I pulled over yesterday, only one person was not in compliance with
Idaho's seat belt laws.  However, I was just visited by a friend form the
Lewiston Police Department (our partner in this year's campaign), and he and
I talked about our laws relative to Washington's laws.  In Idaho, an officer
must pull a car over for a "greater" offense (speeding, having a
registration sticker in the wrong place, not having a front plate, etc.) in
order to enforce the seat belt laws.  In other words, I cannot pull over a
car just because I see a small child standing up in the back seat-I'd have
to have other probable cause to pull over said vehicle.  The Lewiston
officer I've been working with has spent a lot of time trying to change
Idaho's laws regarding seat belt use to: 1. make it a primary offense, and
2. raise the fines so they are commensurate with other states' fines for the
same.  I've heard arguments supporting both sides to this, but I am curious
as to what Latah County's citizens think about our seat belt laws-whether
they are adequate as they are, if they should change, how they should
change, etc.  My own views on seat belt usage have as much to do with how I
was raised as they do with a general aversion to the gruesome scenes I've
experienced responding to collisions wherein the passenger(s) were not
properly restrained (and having to notify next of kin).  But I also realize
that my experience is just that-mine.  What are your thoughts?

Thank you for your time,

~Jennifer  

Det. Jennifer L. McFarland
Latah County Sheriff's Office
Public Information Officer
PO Box 8068
Moscow, Idaho 83843
(208) 882-2216
Fax (208) 883-2281
 <http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/Sheriff_Main.htm>
http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/Sheriff_Main.htm

Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to affairs.
***Ralph Waldo Emerson

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