The Caney Police Department will be issuing tickets during a seat belt awarness campaign on March 22-28.

Police chief Rick Pell said motorists and passengers should be advised of the seat belt laws in Kansas.

“We’re not going to issue warnings; we’ll be writing tickets in accordance with state law,” said Pell.

The Child Passenger Safety Act and the Safety Belt Use Act are specific with seat belt usage in Kansas. The law requires all children under the age of 4 to be in a federally approved child safety seat and all children from ages 4 to 8 to be in a federally approved safety seat or booster seat (unless the the child weighs more than 80 pounds or is taller than 4-foot-9).

Police can issue citations to motorists and passengers from age 14 to 18 who are not buckled with seat belts, Pell said. The citation is regarded as a primary violation, meaning that law enforcement can issue a ticket without regard to any other violation.

However, the Safety Belt Use Act regards an adult violation as a secondary violation, meaning law enforcement cannot issue a citation for seat belt non-compliance without another violation having taken place.

Pell said regardless if the law defines seat belt non-compliance as a primary or secondary violation, the law is still clear: all persons in a vehicle are required to be wearing a seat belt.

“It’s proven that most vehicle collisions take place within 25 miles of a person’s home,” he said. “We may get in our car or truck and drive to the store without worrying about putting on our seat belt. But, most of the car wrecks happen in those types of situations.”

Pell also said the Caney Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and Kansas Highway Patrol were working with the Caney Valley Jr.-Sr. High School student body in a seat belt competition against several other area high schools.