Duluth Police Department Rewards Teens Using Seatbelts With The “I Got Caught” Campaign [Video]

I started driving in the early 80's when we were told to wear seat belts, but it wasn't law, so we rarely did.  Thankfully, throughout the years, I have been programmed to put my seat belt on immediately after entering the car, whether I'm driving or a passenger.  The Duluth Police Department wants to make sure our teens are educated early in their driving years that seat belts are the law and could potentially save their lives and that of their passengers.

Many law enforcement agencies in the Northland are involved with the "I Got Caught" campaign.  The Duluth, Proctor and Hermantown Police Departments along with AAA on Monday, March 31.  The focus of the campaign is to remind teenagers to wear their seatbelts to help Minnesota work Towards Zero Deaths in traffic related crashes. But, there's a twist.  Usually, getting caught means you're doing something wrong.  The officers will be looking for teens doing something right, wearing their seat belt.  During the event, they will be at area high schools watching for students wearing their seatbelts and handing out Dairy Queen Blizzard certificates along with bracelets.

DWI enforcement and education is a component of the state’s core traffic safety initiative, Toward Zero Deaths or TZD. The program is looking to create a safe driving culture in Minnesota, to make motorists want to support a goal of zero road fatalities by practicing and promoting safe and smart driving behavior and teaching others to do the same. There are four strategic areas to reduce crashes — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency trauma response.