According to data collected and published by the National Safety Council, there are many good reasons to demand for seat belt usage, including:

Health care and insurance costs are directly related to the higher costs associated with unbelted drivers and passengers.

Society as a whole picks up more than 85 percent of these costs, not the individuals involved in the crash.  The failure to wear seat belts contributes to more fatalities annually than any other single traffic safety-related behavior.

If just 90% of all Americans utilized seat belts, it would prevent an estimated 5,536 fatalities annually; prevent an estimated 132,700 injuries annually; an reduce the economic impact of traffic crashes by $8.8 billion annually.

 You Drink & Drive...You Lose |You Drink & Drive...You Lose Media
Buckle Up Kentucky |Buckle Up Kentucky Media Files
HIDTA Signature Laboratory  IKentucky Seat Belt Laws
How to Wear a Seat Belt  |Kentucky Child Restraint Laws
Kentucky Safe Schools  | Kentucky Victim Rights Information

 You Drink & Drive...You Lose

This 4th of July, Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement agencies statewide will be working to keep families safe from one of the greatest threats to our communities - impaired drivers.

From December 19, 2003  through January 4, 2004 Kentucky will be participating in the You Drink & Drive - You Lose national mobilization.

Last year there were 5,851 alcohol-related crashes in Kentucky. Of those 5,851 crashes, there were 3,979 persons injured and 209 persons killed. In Kentucky, fatalities in alcohol-related crashes have increased 22 percent from the previous year.

The Kentucky State Police Governor’s Highway Safety Program will coordinate enforcement efforts with local law enforcement agencies statewide to conduct traffic safety checkpoints and saturation patrols in high crash locations to identify and arrest impaired drivers.

The message is simple – You Drink & Drive. You Lose.

You Drink & Drive...You Lose Media Files

Video Files

Television spot - Video (Quicktime format)
Television spot - Video (MPEG format)
Television spot - Video (Real Media format)
Television spot - Video (WMV format)

Audio Files

Radio spot - Audio (MP3 format)
Radio spot - Audio (WAV format)

Print/Outdoor Advertising Files

Brochure (.gif image)
Billboard #1 (.pdf format)
Billboard #2 (.pdf format)

 Buckle Up Kentucky - Its the law & its Enforced

Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States and therefore a significant threat to public health.

Failure to buckle up contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety related behavior.

In 2002, traffic crashes caused more than 900 deaths and 51,000 injuries in Kentucky. More than half of those killed were not properly restrained.

The two-week "Buckle Up Kentucky: It's the Law & It's Enforced" high intensity enforcement wave, which runs from November 17 through November 30, 2003, culminating with the Thanksgiving holiday, will be supported by both state and national advertising that emphasizes high visibility enforcement of Kentucky’s safety belt and child restraint law.

For many non-safety belt users, and especially young people, the threat of a citation has proven to be a greater incentive to buckle up than the threat of injury or death. "We want to reach those least likely to buckle up and most at risk to die," said Chuck Hurley, Executive Director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. "Teens and young adults are killed at far higher rates in crashes because they are caught in a lethal intersection of inexperience, risk taking, and low safety belt use. These tragedies are predictable and therefore preventable, using proven techniques like high visibility enforcement mobilizations."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatality rates for teens are twice that of older drivers and the risk of crashes for teens is four times that of older drivers. Two out of five deaths among teens are the result of a traffic crash.

While national safety belt use stands at 75 percent, Kentucky’s rate is only 62 percent. Generally, those who don’t wear their safety belts are disproportionately teens and young men ages 18-34. The media campaign will specifically target this audience through television, radio ads and billboards emphasizing the coordinated statewide enforcement effort.

During the Buckle Up Kentucky campaign, the Kentucky State Police, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, will be stepping up their patrol activities and conducting traffic safety checkpoints in high crash locations. There will be zero tolerance for those who fail to comply with Kentucky’s child restraint and safety belt law.

"Enforcement gets people to buckle up—safety belt use in states that conduct high visibility enforcement is 10 to 15 percentage points higher than in states that simply conduct public education," said Terrance Parker of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "If every state conducted high visibility enforcement, we would save 5,000 to 7,000 lives each year."

You can download the complete Buckle Up Kentucky brochure in Adobe *.pdf format by clicking on the following link:  Buckle Up Kentucky: It's the Law & It's Enforced Brochure.

The complete Buckle Up Kentucky brochure is also available in Adobe .pdf format in Spanish.  Click here to download Spanish version.

Here are just some of the reasons why we are launching Buckle Up Kentucky:

• This year in America, approximately 8,000 adults and children will die in crashes because they failed to buckle their seat belts.

• Traffic-related injuries are the leading cause of all injury death in America.

• Every hour someone dies in America simply because they didn’t take the time to buckle up.

• Traffic-related injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults ages six to twenty-seven.

• Wearing seat belts is the most effective means of reducing fatalities and serious injuries in traffic crashes.

• Motor vehicle crashes cost society $150.5 billion every year, including $17 billion in health care costs.

• If Kentucky’s present seat belt usage rate increased by 10%, an estimated 57 lives would be saved and 1,086 serious injuries prevented. This represents an economic savings of nearly $80 million to the Commonwealth.

• Buckling up is required by Kentucky law.

For more information or comments, please contact the Kentucky Governor’s Highway Safety Program at (502) 564-6700.

Buckle Up Kentucky Media Files

Video Files

Television spot - Video (mpeg format)
Television spot - Video (real video format)
Television spot - Video (QuickTime format)

Audio Files

Radio spot - Audio (.mp3 format)
Radio spot - Audio (wav format)

Print/Outdoor Advertising Files

Brochure - English (.pdf format)
Brochure - Spanish (.pdf format)

Billboard (.pdf format)

Appalachia HIDTA Signature Laboratory

The Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Laboratory is currently engaged in research to determine if marijuana DNA can be fingerprinted and identified to a geographical location in the United States. 

These efforts will create a system of source determination and aid forensic science in predicting future trends of marijuana cultivation and trafficking.

Source Determination

Source determination provides law enforcement agencies pertinent information with location of marijuana growth to concentrate on eradication efforts.

The source determination creates a valuable resource for a national threat assessment.

Identifying marijuana growth when applied to trafficking seizures will allow the signature laboratory to accurately pinpoint trafficking patterns that will reflect law enforcement opportunities.

The Marijuana Signature Laboratory mirrors the cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin signature labs supported by the DEA.

DNA Specific Probe

DNA Specific Probe provides forensic science an alternate method for identifying marijuana for evidentiary purposes. Current technology can only identify Exhibit A as marijuana because it contains adequate amounts of cannabinoids or THC.
	Exhibit A: Marijuana "bud"
	Marijuana DNA Specific Probe is able to identify Exhibit A and Exhibit B as marijuana for the purpose of criminal prosecution. Participation in collecting samples is the key for the success of the program.
Exhibit B: Marijuana Stems and Seeds

Local, State and Federal Agencies are participating in the sample collection efforts from known eradication sites using sample kits assembled at the Signature  Laboratory.

DNA Linkage

DNA Linkage provides forensic science a tool to compare and link marijuana plants and/or exhibits for evidentiary purposes. 

Exhibit C and D were found at two different crime scenes, or purchased from two controlled buys. The DNA Linkage will determine if It is possible to link exhibit C and exhibit D in order to link crime scenes or	Exhibit C
identify suppliers. DNA Linkage will provide evidentiary information to link exhibits to the same supplier and/or crime scenes.	Exhibit D

Cloning

DNA profiling will be able to provide evidentiary information associated with the cloning process. Research will determine the possibility of connecting the clones, shown in Exhibit E, with the	Exhibit E
"mother" plant shown in Exhibit F if they are found at separate locations.	Exhibit D

Kentucky Seat Belt Laws

No person shall operate a motor vehicle manufactured after 1965 on the public roadways of this state unless the driver and all passengers are wearing a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt.

The driver is responsible for assuring that himself and all passengers in the vehicle are properly restrained.

Failure to wear a seat belt is a secondary violation. A uniform citation for a seat belt violation may be issued only if an officer has cause to stop the person for reasons other than a violation of the seat belt law.

Any person who violates the provisions of Kentucky's Seat Belt Law shall be fined an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25).

How to Wear a Seat Belt

In addition to the law, safety experts recommend the following guidelines to keep motorists as safe as possible:
 

ADULTS Always wear lap belt low and snug. Always wear shoulder belt snug across chest, never across face or throat . Keep back of vehicle seat in upright position.
CHILDREN All children should stay in child seat until their weight reaches 40 Lbs. Use approved booster seat after child reaches 40Lbs. and continue use of booster seat until the seat belt fits properly.
Use shoulder and lap belts whenever possible provided shoulder belt crosses collar bone, not face or throat. Do not allow child to sit on a pillow.   If lap/shoulder belt is not available, lap only belt should be worn as low and snug as possible.
PREGNANT WOMEN Wear lap belt below abdomen. Wear shoulder belt across chest. If your seat belt is too short, consult auto dealer for seat belt extender.
CAUTION! SEAT BELTS SHOULD NEVER BE WORN: Under arm Across throat Loose Over face

Kentucky Child Restraint laws