With highway deaths on the rise, law enforcement officials encourage holdouts to buckle up

Seatbelts save lives and everyone knows it, yet people still suffer when they fail to buckle up.

Deaths in motor vehicle accidents are up this year, according to Bob Grant, highway safety manager at the Nebraska Department of Roads. There have been 122 fatalities on Nebraska roads this year. At this time last year, there had been 110.

Although around 80 percent of drivers obey the safety law, well over half of those who die in auto accidents aren't wearing seatbelts, Grant said.

For instance, in June 22 people died in vehicle accidents on state or county highways, according to the Nebraska Department of Roads fatality report. Fifteen of the 18 vehicle occupants listed as fatalities were not wearing safety belts. Seventy-one of the 84 people who died in crashes in Nebraska in 2013 to date were not wearing a safety harness.

This comes out to 84 percent of total fatalities.

Grant believes that seatbelt usage is more prevalent now than it was in years past.

"They're wearing them more than they did 10 years ago," Grant said.

He attributes this change to discussions, laws and advertising over the last decade.

Most of the fatalities in June of this year occurred in rural areas, which is common. Rural areas usually experience more accidents because the speed limits are often higher. When wrecks occur at greater speed, they tend to be more deadly, Grant said.

Statistically, more collisions do occur in highly populated areas. But these are less likely to result in fatalities due to lower speeds.

"The serious risks are in the rural part of the state," said Fred Zwonechek, Highway Safety Administrator for the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.

He believes that lower seatbelt usage in rural areas is due the impression that one doesn't need a safety belt to travel short distances.

"They're far more likely to be involved in crashes where they drive every day," Zwonechek said.

Many people don't think they will ever encounter serious trouble, because of their good driving habits, Zwonechek pointed out, but it can happen to anyone. He also thinks that some people just never got in the habit of wearing a belt.

"It's difficult to reach those people," he commented.

Fourteen of the fatalities on Nebraska roads in June took place on local roads and eight occurred on non-interstate highways. Ten of the deaths happened in single vehicle roll over crashes.

There were 22 deaths in 17 accidents in Nebraska last month.

Many believe that if everyone wore safety restraints, these death rates would be cut down significantly.

"We're constantly promoting seatbelt use," Grant said.

Most people in town do wear their seatbelts, observed Sidney Police Chief Joe Aikens.

The NOHS's click it or ticket efforts, in conjunction with local law enforcement, take place in the last two weeks of May, through Memorial Day weekend and around the Thanksgiving.

"We encourage law enforcement to consider that most people have had plenty of warnings," Zwonechek said.

The Sidney department's efforts to increase seatbelt usage include participation in the click it or ticket program.

"We're constantly reminding people to wear their seatbelts," Aikens said.

Sidney Police give out either written warnings or citations when those they stop aren't wearing their safety harnesses, depending on the reason a person was originally pulled over. Aikens said he was not aware of any deaths in Sidney in recent history due to failure to wear a seatbelt, but is sure their have been fatalities in the surrounding area.

The NOHS has an aggressive ad campaign that includes television, radio, pump top ads at gas stations and billboards as well as many additional outlets. The group focuses on reaching males ages 18-34 because they have the highest crash risk and are the least likely to use seatbelts.

"Research tells us that they are most responsive to strong enforcement," Zwonechek said.

He means that this group is much more likely to wear a seatbelt if they believe they'll get a ticket for failing to wear one. NOHS tries to reach non-seatbelt wearers through sports teams, race tracks as well as through other resources. The organization attempts to cater its ads to this group particularly, although it strives to reach all those who only wear their seatbelts part of the time.

"We certainly recognize that others don't wear belts as well," Zwonechek said.

The group also partners with driver's training programs and civic organizations.

It also asks crash victims to speak out about their stories.

"We encourage individuals who are saved by the belt to share their experiences if they're willing to," Zwonechek explained.

This organization also provides funding for state patrol roll over units, Friday Night Lights safety demonstrations at high school football games and programs that promote safe driving for teens. His organization is dealing with some new issues such as texting while driving, and distracted driving in general.

"It will become a bigger part of our messaging as well," Zwonechek said.

Nebraska's secondary enforcement law means that drivers can only be cited for not wearing a safety belt if they were pulled over for another violation.

"That makes it a little more challenging for law enforcement," Zwonechek noted.

It's quite frustrating for those who see a lot of wrecks to realize that a person would have survived if they had been wearing their seatbelt, Zwonechek continued. Statistics say that more than half of those who died in crashes while not wearing a safety belt would have survived if they had been wearing one, Zwonechek said.