DPS NEWS

Buckling Up This Holiday Season

To kick off Click it or Ticket enforcement, Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) troopers are encouraging Utahns to remind loved ones to buckle up. As part of this effort, troopers visited James E. Moss Elementary to share Alyson and Cortlen Simkin’s story, encouraging students to follow their example.

When Alyson Simkins’ husband Michael wouldn’t buckle up, she and her son left a reminder in his car: a photo of them. On the photo was written, “Wear your seat belt for us.” Not long after, Michael Simkins was in a multicar pileup and survived because he was buckled thanks to his family and their photo reminder.

Just like the Simkin family, students at Moss Elementary took Polaroid photos with the buckle up message on them to share with their family. “It’s a neat reminder each time you get in the car,” said Lt. Todd Royce of the Utah Highway Patrol. “This family is living proof that wearing your seat belt can save your life.”

Salt Lake County also offered free car seat inspections at Moss Elementary. “It’s extremely important that adults need to buckle up and young children need to be in a proper car seat,” said Lt. Royce.

November 18 UHP begins the two week increased seat belt enforcement period. During this time UHP joins forces with local police departments and unified police departments and together these organizations will work more than 300 overtime shifts from Saturday, November 18 – Friday, December 1 to stop and educate motorists who aren’t wearing a seat belt. The enforcement period is strategically planned to begin right before the Thanksgiving holiday, a busy, and often deadly, travel weekends. Over the past five years there have been 3,497 crashes and 20 fatalities during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Please remind your loved ones to buckle up. Not only is it the law but it can save your life.