Holiday travel brings reminder to buckle up

Posted: Saturday, May 27, 2006

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Extra state troopers and local police will be on Nebraska roads this holiday weekend to check for fastened seat belts.

The increase is part of Click It or Ticket, a national campaign that runs through June 4 with the goal of a 5 percent increase in seat-belt use.

Nebraska fines drivers $25 for seat-belt violations. Failure to buckle up is a secondary offense, so officers can't stop vehicles solely for violating seat-belt laws, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

In Omaha, the police department has five officers and one sergeant committed to seat-belt enforcement each day of the campaign.

The Grand Island Police Department has scheduled more than 600 overtime hours from May 22 to June 4, and the sheriff's department will have five officers working 204 overtime hours.

Grants from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety are helping to pay for the extra hours worked by law enforcement across the state.

Thousands of Nebraskans are expected to hit the road for the Memorial Day holiday. Despite high gasoline prices, AAA predicts 37.5 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home.

Earlier this month, the State Patrol issued 45 seat-belt citations from May 7-13, during another special enforcement effort aimed at pickup truck drivers.