Recent seat belt surveys by the Dalton Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit show that seat belt usage in the city has increased following two months of enhanced enforcement from 87 percent to 90 percent.

The first survey was conducted during the first week of February. A follow-up survey was conducted the first week of April. The increased rate puts Dalton’s seat belt usage in line with the state usage rate of 90 percent, the highest in the Southeast, but below the city’s record of 94 percent.

The increased enforcement involved saturated patrols and road checks throughout the city. The patrols helped identify violations of adult seat belt violations and the road checks were instrumental in identifying child car seat violations and misuses. At one road check alone, 36 child safety restraints were found to have defects or were out of date. Representatives of the Dalton chapter of Safe Kids were present to help replace the child safety restraints.

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Web site, 55 percent of all people killed in car crashes were not wearing a safety belt. And inappropriately restrained children are nearly three and a half times more likely to be injured than children properly restrained.

Georgia state law requires any person in the front seat of a passenger vehicle on a public road to be restrained by a safety belt. The law also requires any passengers between the ages of 6 and 17 to be restrained by a safety belt in any vehicle on a public road, no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Passengers under 6 must be restrained by an approved child safety restraint.

Representatives of the Traffic Enforcement Unit are available at (706) 278-9085, extension 124, for questions about child car safety seats. Motorists can stop by the Dalton Police Department Services Center at 301 Jones St. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to get help in properly installing a child safety restraint.