Eugene police buckle down for safety-belt campaign
University students who opt to not wear seat belts may find it harder to get away with it this week.
Because of a two-week safety-belt blitz by the Eugene Police Traffic Enforcement Unit called the 3-Flags Campaign, more seat-belt violators can expect to get nailed with fines.
The safety-belt blitz began May 24 and will conclude June 6.
Eugene Police Department Sgt. Derel Schulz, supervisor of the traffic-enforcement unit, said officers will pay more attention to seat-belt enforcement during the campaign.
More violations tend to occur in Oregon because the state has a primary safety-belt law, meaning an officer can pull someone over just for not wearing a seat belt, Schulz said. Many other states have secondary safety-belt laws, he said. Those laws don’t allow officers to pull a vehicle over for a seat-belt violation. A citation can only be issued when another offense has been committed.
Prior to the campaign, Schulz said EPD officers conducted a poll of 100 vehicles to calculate the rate of safety-belt use. The next step in the campaign is to alert the media of the increased enforcement and work to raise awareness.
The Oregon Department of Transportation also runs television and radio advertisements on a statewide level, Schulz said.
“Our goal is to raise driver awareness and make sure the public understands the importance and safety of a seat belt,” Schulz said.
He said EPD received a grant to fund officer overtime hours to increase enforcement.
The 3-Flags Campaign is a traffic-enforcement program involving hundreds of law-enforcement agencies in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, according to the ODOT Web site.
The program, which is more than 10 years old, works to reduce motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries by increasing awareness of safety-belt use and laws.
The ODOT site states the program has expanded from enforcement along Interstate 5 and Highway 97 to a statewide campaign.
Safety-belt usage increased from 76 percent to 88 percent in the program’s first year and is reported to be higher than 90 percent today, according to the Web site.
— Lisa Catto
EPD chief Robert Lehner hosts open forum today
University students and University-area businesses have an opportunity to chat with Eugene Police Department Chief Robert Lehner between 7 and 8:30 a.m. today at Espresso Roma, which is located at 825 E. 13th Ave.
EPD Spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said anyone can drop in and express concerns or ask questions of Lehner during the open forum.
Lehner has visited numerous areas in Eugene since February, but this is his first forum in the University area, Olshanski said.
— Lisa Catto
EPD complaints forum open to students tonight
Students concerned about the process of filing complaints with the Eugene Police Department will have an opportunity to voice their opinions.
The Eugene Police Commission, the Eugene Human Rights Commission and the ASUO are sponsoring a public complaint forum at 6 p.m. tonight in the EMU Fishbowl.
Eugene Police Commission Coordinator Jeannine Parisi said the commission is beginning a review of EPD policies and procedures for handling and investigating complaints.
She said the commission wants to hear the opinions of University students and get their ideas and suggestions for improving the process. Also, the commission wants to hear students’ experiences with filing complaints with EPD.
A recent audit of EPD’s internal affairs files prompted the idea to hold a forum, Parisi said.
The auditor, Howell Lankford of Arbitration Services, Inc., suggested in his summary letter that EPD review their standards and procedures for reviewing complaints.
“This year’s (internal affairs) cases do not demonstrate that the internal affairs process got everything it needed from EPD in 2003,” Lankford said in the letter.
For more information, call the City of Eugene at 682-5852, or the ASUO at 346-0624.
— Lisa Catto
