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Published on Thursday, May 27, 2004
in the Hernando Today
BROOKSVILLE - Trooper Larry Coggins turns on the overhead service lights of his patrol vehicle and gently gives a tap on the siren to let the driver of the car know he wants him to pull over. The driver of the blue Chevrolet pick-up truck in front of him quickly puts on his seat belt. As the truck drives through the intersection of Mariner Boulevard and State Road 50, the driver of the truck pulls into the parking lot in front of AmSouth Bank.
After the Florida Highway patrolman writes a warning for failing to give the right-of-way and a ticket for not wearing a seat belt, Coggins gets back inside his Ford Expedition that serves as his patrol car. "He swears he had his seat belt on," Coggins says.
Over the next two weeks, the Florida Highway Patrol, along with all other local law enforcement agencies in the area, will be targeting people who fail to wear their seat belt.
The campaign, called "Click It or Ticket," will have "wolfpacks" of law enforcement officers across Florida cracking down on drivers over the Memorial Day weekend.
According to Coggins, last year 3,000 people were killed in car accidents. Of those, 560 were not wearing a seat belt. The campaign will also crack down on people who don't have their children restrained, Coggins said. Sixty-nine children were killed last year in Florida because of not having the child restrained.
"It's a public health concern," Coggins said.
He said that several injuries each year could be avoided if the motorist would buckle up. Instead, he said, what is frequently occurring is people are being injured and hospital emergency rooms are being tied up in the process.
Besides the FHP, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office also said it would participate in the campaign, which lasts from May 24-June 6.
During this time frame, the FHP will also have aircraft in the air monitoring motorists. The plan, Coggins said, is to intensify patrols and to educate the public more about wearing seat belts. Not wearing a seat belt is a secondary offense in the state of Florida. Law enforcement personnel must first pull over a vehicle for a primary violation.
In Hernando County, the fine for not wearing a seat belt is $51, Coggins said, but the fines vary from county to county.
The fine for not having a child restrained costs more because it is a moving violation. But Coggins said the campaign is not geared to adding more money to the coffers of the state of Florida. It's geared on making the community safer.
"If we go an entire shift and everyone's wearing a seat belt, we've done our job," Coggins said. On Wednesday, as Coggins prowled State Road 50, he spotted two people not wearing a seat belt. The first man he gave a warning for violating the right of way and a ticket for not wearing his seat belt.
The second person has a cracked windshield. Coggins pulls the person's black Dodge Ram over and speaks to him briefly. When he gets back inside the Expedition, he begins typing in the person's information to give him a ticket for not wearing a seat belt.
"He said I knew I should have had it on and I apologize," Coggins says.
The trooper thinks the campaign is working. It's been played over and over in television ads and newspaper articles over the last several years. Just a few days ago, Coggins said he had to smile when he pulled over a person who was not wearing a seat belt. "He looked at me and he said, 'Click it or Ticket!'" Coggins said.