Linn County Sheriff, Cedar Rapids police participating in seat belt enforcement project next week

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Linn County Sheriff's Office and Cedar Rapids Police Department are among the agencies taking part in a traffic enforcement project that kicks off on Sunday.

The Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau special Traffic Enforcement Program runs from Nov. 19-26. The focus of the project is on seat belt usage.

Authorities said 301 people were killed nationwide over Thanksgiving weekend in 2015. Of those who died, 50 percent were not wearing seat belts. Iowa had five fatalities over Thanksgiving weekend in both 2015 and 2016.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only one percent of vehicle occupants who were wearing seat belts were ejected from the vehicle in a crash. Thirty percent of the people who were unbuckled were ejected. Authorities said that 80 percent of the people ejected from vehicles in 2015 were killed.

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