Troopers talk seat belt safety at Knox Elementary By GAYLE AGNEWagnew@the-review Published: April 2, 2014 3:00AM Three troopers from the Lisbon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol visited Knox Elementary School Tuesday. Due to the recent high amount of traffic fatalities in Columbiana County attributed to drivers and passengers not wearing safety belts, Knox Township trustee Gregg Carver coordinated a poster campaign with school administrators to demonstrate support for law enforcement and stress the importance of buckling up. Third-graders made posters with personalized safety belt messages to encourage motorists to buckle up. After the posters were ready, Lt. Joe Dragovich and Troopers Neil Everett and Kevin W. Thompson came to the school to pick up the posters that will be displayed in various locations in the area. The troopers, along with Carver and Knox Township Fiscal Officer Debra Hartzell, then visited the third-grade class of Stacy Patterson and they talked about safety and the importance of wearing safety belts. The posters send a very important message, Carver said. When crashes happen it affects many people. He and Dragovich urged students to encourage their family and friends to buckle up. We dont like to write tickets, but it changes behavior, Dragovich said. We work with the people who make the laws. They discussed the child safety law and Thompson provided statistics that indicate that kids must be at least 4 years old and weigh at least 40 pounds in order to be out of a booster seat. Kids ages 8 to 15 who are passengers in vehicles are required to wear safety belts. The last two weeks of March we wrote 346 seat belt tickets, Dragovich said. He also said seat belts should be worn properly in order to be effective. Air bags work with a seat belt. Air bags protect in the initial impact, Dragovich said, and added that kids are safer riding in the back seat. At the end of the presentation, Carver challenged the students to come up with a seat belt safety slogan. The class and visitors then went outside and were given a demonstration on how the laser device that determines speed and distance works and kids got to see inside the troopers SUV and car. Its nice to have the support of OSHP and the Columbiana County sheriffs deputies, said Principal Amy Mabbot. Every two weeks they come and walk through the school.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:59:22 +0000
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