Austin Police Department Is Trying To Reduce Injuries From Auto Accidents

The Austin Police Department is trying something a little new to reduce the number of injuries that Austinites suffer in car wrecks.

The police department initiated their usual Click It or  Ticket campaign to encourage motorists to use their seat belts.  But this year, they’re adding a twist:  undercover police officers are dressing as panhandlers to stand on the corner of busy intersections and look for motorists not using their seat belts.  The officer will then radio the offenders in to an officer who will catch the offender and write a ticket.

While it’s sneaky, I applaud the APD on the new plan.  Whether a person is using a seat belt can be a huge factor in determining whether the person sustains severe, life-threatening injuries in a wreck.  Frankly, we’ve all been able to watch videos of crash test dummies, and by now, we’ve been raised to wear seat  belts and there’s not much excuse for not using them.  So I’m okay with a little sneakiness to help encourage safety.