Police stop targets seat belt violations
Three were arrested and citations issued to a handful of motorists during a Christmas Eve checkpoint conducted by the McMinnville Police Department.
“The idea behind this checkpoint was to promote safety by making sure people were buckling up,” said McMinnville Police Sgt. Mark Mara. “The people coming through the checkpoints were very nice and cooperative and I think they understood we were there to help make the roads safer during the holidays.”
Mara estimated around 500 vehicles passed through the pair of checkpoints conducted Monday afternoon on South Chancery and Old Smithville Road.
“We were able to get them through with minimal wait, usually about a minute,” Mara said, noting police made sure motorists were wearing seat belts and inspected their brake lights. “For as many vehicles we saw, there were really very few citations issued.”
The arrests involved three people driving on revoked or suspended licenses. The citations dealt mainly with failure to wear seat belts as required by state law. The ticket for not wearing a seat belt is $10. However, there were a few motorists who did not have their children properly buckled in, a violation which will cost them over $100.
“We had a couple who came through with their children sitting in their laps, Mara said. “That is an obvious violation.”
Mara said the officers working the checkpoint were doing so outside their normal work time, meaning they were spending time away from their families to help promote public safety.
The Christmas Eve checkpoint is the first of a number of such checkpoints which will be held around the city during the holidays.
“This time the main focus was seat belts, the next focus will on drunk drivers,” Mara said, noting the next checkpoint will be at nighttime where drunk drivers are more prevalent.