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Hiawatha Police Participating in Traffic Enforcement Campaign

By Submitted

11/21/2016

(KNZA)--The Hiawatha Police Department is joining other law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Kansas Highway Patrol, in the Kansas Thanksgiving Traffic Enforcement Campaign “ You Drink, You Drive, You Lose” now underway through Sunday, November 27.

According to a press release from Police Chief John Defore, a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation will underwrite overtime enforcement efforts that specifically aim at removing impaired drivers from roads and ticketing vehicle occupants who are unrestrained or whose child passengers are unrestrained.

In comparison with other holidays, the release says the Thanksgiving holiday period (Wednesday-Sunday) outranks all but New Year’s in average number of crashes in which driver impairment is cited as a factor.

Defore says those driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs not only endanger themselves, but also others they share the road with. On average, across Kansas, five persons are killed or injured in alcohol/drug-related crashes each day. And the crashes tend to be more severe.

Also responsible for needless death and injury is the failure by many teens and adults to simply buckle up, or to properly buckle up child passengers. The release says twice as many Kansans who die from a crash are unrestrained as are restrained. Even worse is the fact that injuries suffered by those who are unbuckled are likely to be much more severe and disabling than injuries suffered by those who are buckled in.

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