Royal Purple

Issue date: 12/17/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Jon Good Michelle Ulma gets in her car Dec. 10 outside of Hawk's Nest Bar & Grill. She was the designated driver for her boyfriend, senior AJ Schley, and their friends. The University Police Department participated in Booze & Belts, a Wisconsin program meant to discourage drunk driving and encourage buckling-up. It started Dec. 8 and ended Monday.

A state-wide program called "Booze & belts," aimed at increasing the enforcement of drunk driving and drivers without seatbelts.

"Our goal is to save lives," University Police officer Steve Hanekamp said. "If I stop one person for not wearing their seatbelt, I'm doing my job."

The program ran from Dec. 8 to Dec. 15 and is sponsored by the Department of Transportation. Hanekamp said he thinks because of the holiday season, the program will help many drivers.

"It's to get people in the habit of not drinking and driving and putting their seatbelts on," Hanekamp said.

According to the DOT, in 2007 more than 42,000 drivers were convicted of drunk driving. In alcohol related crashes, 337 people were killed and over 5,500 people were injured.

About 75 percent of people use seat belts in Wisconsin, the national average is 82 percent. National statistics state 77 percent of those in crashes who were wearing a seatbelt survived the crash, the DOT reported

Drivers and passengers who are hurt or killed in traffic crashes that didn't buckle up create tremendous economic losses, such as medical expenses and lost worker productivity.

The rest of society pays for nearly 75 percent of these economic losses through higher insurance premiums, taxes, and other public funding, the National Transportation Safety Board states.

Hanekamp said the University Police have been patrolling its normal areas, but any extra officers that are available are supposed to be patrolling as well.

The DOT also sponsors other programs such as, "Click It or Ticket," to enforce wearing seatbelts; and "Over the Limit, Under Arrest," to prevent drunk driving. Booze & belts is an effort to combine the two.

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