IUPD wins award for seat belt efforts

The IU Police Department received "South Region Champion" honors at the 2001 Operation Pull Over Traffic Safety Banquet Friday.\nUpon receiving the plaque and $2,000 grant, Sgt. Tim Lewis, representing the IUPD, said, "We are very proud to be recognized for this endeavor. During the last enforcement operation, we discovered that there was 80 percent compliance with the state's seat belt laws. We feel that this is an example of our community's concern for their safety."\nGiven by the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving, a division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the banquet recognized heroes of Operation Pull Over. \nThe program was a survey conducted by number of Indiana police departments. \nThe Governor's Council created Operation Pull Over to increase traffic safety by increasing seat belt usage and decrease impaired driving crashes, fatalities and injuries.\nThe program is a combined public information and enforcement campaign aimed at fulfilling the Governor's Council's goals.\nStructured in four sessions each year, each session is four weeks of public education. Immediately following a session, enforcement is increased for two weeks.\nDuring the last four-week blitz, IUPD officers stood on corners recording the number of individuals who wore seat belts.\nSgt. Shannon Ramey said he was proud of the officers who participated in Operation Pull Over.\n"I think it's great," Ramey said. "They all performed above average. They did their job."\nMore than 225 law enforcement agencies across Indiana participate in Operation Pull Over. Twenty-three of the agencies and seven individuals were acknowledged for their exceptional efforts in their communities.\n"We're happy to receive the grant," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. "It reflects good on the department and community as a whole."\nSeat belt usage in Indiana has been steadily improving, Jerry McCory, director of the Governor's Council, said in a statement.\n"More Hoosiers than ever are buckling up," McCory said. "Indiana also has achieved the lowest number of motor vehicle fatalities in the State's history.\n"The Indiana University Police Department has done a tremendous job in helping Indiana attain these accomplishments"