With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up next week — and the influx of additional traffic that comes with major holidays — the Iowa State Patrol aims to keep travelers safe on the road.

“We’ll be pushing a heavy focus on seat belt enforcement,” said Iowa State Patrol Trooper Paul Gardner, public information officer for ISP District 7. “Thanksgiving last year there were seven fatalities statewide, which was the deadliest in 10 years.”

Though Iowa has had a primary safety belt law since 1986, allowing law enforcement to stop a motorist if they are observed not wearing a seat belt, there are still many drivers and passengers who don’t buckle up. According to Gardner, in 2023, troopers in ISP District 7 have written 729 seat belt citations, compared to 550 last year. District 7 covers Calhoun, Hamilton, Humboldt, Kossuth, Pocahontas, Webster and Wright counties.

Wearing a seat belt isn’t just the law, Gardner said, but it saves lives.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert

Iowa State Patrol Trooper Paul Gardner helps Lynne Meyer buckle into the ISP’s Seatbelt Convincer. According to Gardner, the ISP will be focusing on seat belt enforcement during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

Of the 325 traffic fatalities this year, 47 percent were not wearing a seat belt. While a seatbelt won’t prevent a crash from happening, it greatly increases the chances of survival, Gardner said.

The Iowa State Patrol has a “Seatbelt Convincer” device that simulates a 10-miles-per-hour crash so the rider can feel just how important wearing a seat belt is. Gardner has taken it to various community events, including the Webster County Fair and the Iowa State Fair.

Gardner also noted that it’s important for young children and infants to be properly buckled in as well.

Iowa law requires infants under 1 year old and weighing less than 20 pounds to be secured in a rear-facing car seat. Children between 1 and 5 years old must be in a car seat or a booster seat, and older children up to 18 years old must wear a seat belt.

The law doesn’t currently require adults over 18 to wear seat belts in the back seat of a vehicle, Gardner said, but all vehicle passengers are encouraged to buckle up for safety.

“If you have somebody in the backseat, if you’re the driver and your buddy who’s behind you is not buckled in, he’s going to be thrust forward and crush you between the seat and steering wheel,” he said. “A lot of serious injuries accompany that. When somebody’s not buckling up, they think ‘I’d only hurt myself,’ but you become a 200-pound missile if you’re not buckled in.”