Buckled Up Cda Drivers Lead State In Self-Restraint

Seat belt use in Coeur d’Alene is now higher than in any other Idaho city.

A summer survey of 21 cities in the Gem State showed 61 percent of motorists using seat belts, up 5 percent from last year and up about 45 percent from 1986 when Idaho’s seat belt law went into effect.

The state Department of Transportation said the survey showed 71 percent seat belt use in Coeur d’Alene. The Lake City joins Twin Falls as the only communities ever to top 70 percent since the surveys started.

“It looks to me like the people in this area are saying `Hey, it’s the right thing to do,’ and they do it,” said Coeur d’Alene Police Capt. Ken Timmons. “It’s something we’re very conscious of, and from every indication, our officers are talking to the public about use of seat belts.”

It is a topic officers bring up when they visit school children, said Police Chief David Scates. Additionally, Washington, Montana and Canada all have tough seat belt laws, and Coeur d’Alene sees a lot of drivers from those places.

Mostly, however, people in this region “are aware that seat belts reduce injuries if you’re involved in an accident,” Scates said.

The Office of Highway Safety of the transportation department estimates that 70 lives are lost each year in Idaho because people are not using seat belts.

At the other end of the spectrum, the survey showed Soda Springs had 27.5 percent use and Salmon 28.4.