KEN'S KORNER - JULY 2003
CLICK IT OR - GO TO JAIL?
By Author, Educator and Big City Driver Ken Skaggs

I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, about the new big nationwide seatbelt enforcement campaign called “Click it or ticket”. Well, one police department, the El Paso County Sheriff's Department, has taken it one step further, when it comes to buckling up children. Their motto is "Click it or - go to jail"! That's right. They’ve already arrested hundreds of people since May, when they began the program. Despite local news coverage and talk radio shows, people still insist on driving without buckling in their children.

If arrested, you are charged with a misdemeanor and you are required to post a $500 bail to get out. If you don’t have $500, you will have to sit in jail until your court date, which could mean a few weeks behind bars. Even if you do post your bond quickly, they make you sit in a cell for a few hours for “processing”. These officers are getting sick and tired of picking dead kids up off the road who could have been saved by a seatbelt (and who can blame them).

Some people would argue that the punishment doesn't fit the crime. They feel like it's only a traffic violation and not actually a crime, worthy of going to jail for. I think it is a crime and I’ll tell you why. It's one thing to take a chance with your own life, but quite a different story when it comes to risking other lives, especially defenseless children who don’t know any better.

An adult, especially a driver, has a much better chance of walking away from an accident than a child does, if they both are not wearing a seatbelt. After all, the driver is watching the road and is more likely to see it coming. Plus, you have a steering wheel to hold on to, to brace yourself before the actual collision. A child would most likely be playing around and not paying attention to the road, and more likely to be caught by surprise. Plus, they don’t weigh as much and are more likely to go flying out the windshield.

I saw an accident once where a grown man was thrown out the windshield. Of course, he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Some people argue that they don’t want to get trapped by their seatbelt, in the event of a burning or sinking in water wreck. There are rare occurrences of these types of accidents, but I’m sure seatbelts save many more lives than they cost. In other words, you are much more likely to be saved by a seatbelt than killed by one. I say this, even though one of my best friends was saved by the fact that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

I must admit, I used to drive without a seatbelt. I started wearing mine when I wanted to set an example for my kids, since I always made them wear theirs. I understand that old habits are hard to break, but with a little practice, you can make new (good) habits.

I agree with this tough policy in Texas. Especially for parents or drivers who buckle themselves, but not their children. They really deserve all they get, in my opinion. Maybe other police departments will follow suit.

Here’s another doozy- South Carolina State Police have a real eye-opener too. Speeding in construction zones gets you a $200 fine and thirty days in jail! Thirty days in jail, I can’t believe it, but it's true. So many people don’t even slow down when they go through construction zones. The speed limit drops from seventy to fifty-five and everybody still does eighty. Every year, far too many highway construction workers are killed. It's about time that somebody takes this problem seriously. I hope other states follow suit on this one too.

I think these are two examples of a new trend. Law enforcement officers are getting sick and tired of all the lazy, deadly, me-first people zig-zagging through life with no concern for anybody but themselves (and little of that). I for one am very happy to see it. After some time, we should get some statistics on how many lives were saved by these efforts. I'm sure there will be some lives saved. If it saves one, it will be worth it, but I'm sure there will be more.

Where do you draw the line between a traffic violation and a crime? When it endangers someone's life? This is not an easy line to draw. Almost anything you do with a car or truck can occasionally endanger lives. People make mistakes to. And not just the inconsiderate drivers, but even the safe ones sometimes make mistakes. Road safety is kind of like Homeland Security - we give up some freedoms in the name of safety or security. We all want to be safe and live long, but sometimes we like to bend the rules.

Unfortunately, when it comes to driving, mistakes cost lives. If I ever killed somebody, I could never forgive myself - especially if it was my fault. Accidents change lives in the blink of an eye. One minute you’re cruising along with a good song cranked up on the radio and the next thing you know, you’re in jail for reckless homicide, just because you bent one of those rules or forgot to do something (like put a seatbelt on your child).

It use to be that driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol was about the only thing you could go to jail for. Now, there’s seatbelts (on children), speeding in construction zones and reckless homicide. I think, in the not too distant future, we will add to that list speeding in residential areas and school zones.

Driving is getting more and more complicated every day, as our population grows. I know that you hear people say it every day, but please be careful out there. People are killed every day on our roads. Don’t let yourself (or your child) be one of them. Thanks for listening and next time you go online, go to www.bigcitydriver.com for more deep, analytical thoughts about truck driving.