People are buckling up in Conway, police report [07/15/2006]

Conway Police recently teamed up with the New Hampshire Highway Safety to conduct a weeklong seat-belt check. The results were positive, police said; the vast majority of people are buckling up.During a two-week period, May 22 to June 4, Conway Police visually checked 11,870 vehicles and pulled over 77 vehicles, issuing 15 warnings and one summons to motorists 18 and under and 44 warnings and four summons to those over the age of 18. The department also issued three motor vehicle warnings and 20 motorists were issued summons."We gave out a lot less violations than you might think," Lt. Joe Faia, of the Conway Police Department, said. "The nice thing was we found a lot of people to be in compliance. These weren't just New Hampshire registered vehicles. We recorded cars from all over the country."According to state law, all children six and under must be in an approved child safety seat when in a vehicle. Also, the law states that anyone aged 18 and under must wear a seat belt. "Not wearing a seat belt is now considered a primary offense, and a motor vehicle can be stopped if an officer sees (a teen) driving without safety belt," Faia said. "... The bottom line is we want people to be safe when they are on the road."Faia added, "I think overall, if you look at the numbers, people are doing a pretty good job. I would say we're about the same with statistics from last year, the numbers seem similar. I don't think we're grossly up or down in either direction.'The Highway Safety Agency is the agency responsible under the executive direction of the governor to develop and implement a statewide program designed to reduce traffic crashes and the resulting deaths, injuries and property damage.Faia said the department monitored vehicles on Main Street in Conway Village for three hours a day over the two-week period. Two officers handled the duties at a time."We had an officer visually check the cars as they went by with a clicker, and if they spotted something, they motioned for the vehicle to pull over," he said. "... Conway was a good location because traffic moves a little slower, making it easy to visualize and with school getting out, there are a lot of student operators in the vicinity."