Crime & Safety
JeffCo Announces Seatbelt Patrols In Mountain Towns
Bergen Park, downtown Evergreen and Conifer will beef up patrols checking for seatbelt use as part of a traffic safety campaign.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO – "Buckle up in the mountains" is the message the Jefferson County Sheriff's office has for drivers for the first few weeks of spring.
JeffCo traffic patrols will be conducting seatbelt safety enforcements in mountain towns, especially in the Bergen Park area, downtown Evergreen and Conifer, the sheriff's office said in a statement Friday. The beefed up patrols will run from March 25-31, 2019, the sheriff's office said.
In 2018, only 86 percent of Colorado drivers wore their seatbelt, compared with 90 percent nationwide. CDOT says 53 percent of 382 motor vehicle accident fatalities in 2018 involved a driver or occupant who was not wearing a seatbelt. In 2017, CDOT said seat belts saved the lives of 226 people in Colorado.
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The Evergreen community especially knows the pain of fatal traffic accidents without seatbelts. In January of 2018, 16-year-old Rachel Hern was thrown from the back seat of a car on Highway 74 in a rollover wreck. Her mother RaeAnn Hern has made it a personal crusade to encourage teens to wear their seatbelts.
"If I could show a picture of Rachel in her hospital bed, I would, to save another kid. It only takes a second to make the wrong choice," RaeAnn Hern told 9NEWS.
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The driver, Daltyn Drake Hollon, 21, entered a guilty plea of reckless driving and is scheduled for sentencing April 4.
The sheriff's office received grant funding to pay for extra traffic patrols during the last week of the month to specifically enforce Colorado seatbelt laws.
"The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is committed to reducing the number of motor vehicle fatalities and increasing driver safety awareness," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "We encourage everyone to drive safely and responsibly."
Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Transportation is encouraging drivers to wear seatbelts, even for "quick trips" with a new campaign.
Related: Seatbelt Safety Is Focus Of CDOT "Quick Trips" Campaign
Related: Mother Of Evergreen Teen Killed In Rollover Wreck Urges Seatbelts
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