Island County Sheriff Mark Brown said a couple of nighttime seat belt emphasis patrols last weekend netted only four seat belt violations, but plenty of drivers received warnings and tickets for other types of law breaking.
Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office and state troopers worked together to catch vehicle occupants who weren’t wearing seat belts. It’s an especially big problem at night and is one of the factors leading to a disproportionate number of fatal accidents after dark.
“The statistics are pretty plain that 50 percent of fatality collisions occur during the night when only 12 percent of the traffic volume is out there,” Brown said.
In the sting operation, a plain-clothes police “spotter” stood at an intersection and looked into the cars, alerting other deputies when he saw a seat belt or other violation. They ran the operation between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
On May 26, the team went to work at the intersection of Highway 525 and Langley Road on South Whidbey. The following night, they were at the intersection of Highway 20 and Ault Field Road.
In all, Brown said they pulled over 119 violators in the two nights. Most of the drivers got off without tickets, but the officers issued citations for four seat belt violations, two for speeding, two for driving under the influence, and three for driving with a suspended license.
In addition, the deputies and troopers made three drug-related arrests.
Brown said there could be a number of reasons for the low number of seat belt violations. He said it’s hard for deputies to see into the cars without a lot of street lighting. Cars are traveling quickly because there’s not a lot of traffic volume to slow them. He suspects that Whidbey residents tend to follow the rules.
Also, Brown points to recent “click it or ticket” commercials and campaigns by the state and federal governments.
“Maybe the education portion is working. I hope that it is,” he said.
Nevertheless, Brown said he plans more nighttime seat belt actions in the near and distant future. So it pays to buckle up.
