Entry bubble Wear Your Seat Belt

By: Joanne | May 19, 2009 | Category: Travel

click it or ticket

Here’s a tip: wear your seat belt when you’re in the car this week, because the police are cracking down and ticketing people violating seat belt laws.

This week is the Click it or Ticket National Enforcement Mobilization Campaign. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only 83 percent of Americans are using seat belts. What really surprised me was that the national data actually indicates that seat belt usage actually went down in many states between 2007 and 2008. I was also surprised to see that night time seat belt usage is significantly lower than day time usage.

I’m a big seat belt advocate. When I was a kid, my parents always insisted that I wear a seat belt in the car – they even got seat belts in the back seat when that was optional equipment. I started wearing seat belts when I was young, and I never stopped. I’ve been in 3 car accidents in my life, and I’m certain that each time my seat belt saved me from injury. I remember getting in the car with my cousin one day and scolding her for not wearing a seat belt. She told me that she didn’t like seat belts because they’re uncomfortable. “So’s a traumatic head injury!” I replied.

So once you get into the habit of wearing your seat belt this week, keep it up.  It’s one of the many little things you can do to help yourself and your loved ones stay safe and healthy.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: belt   car   joanne   police   safety   seat   ticket  

 

Entry bubble Prevent Crime

By: Jake | August 11, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

In February a New Jersey news station wanted to see how people reacted when they witnessed a crime. They set up a scenario where actors stole wallets from other actors at a restaurant and then filmed the reactions of restaurant patrons. Many people didn't do anything until the victims noticed their wallet was gone, that's when they sprang into action. Those who did react generally went into full force—one lady chased a purse snatcher out the door and one guy even punched out the staged culprit.Handcuffs

My girlfriend and I recently witnessed someone steal a pair of headphones from a store in the mall. My girlfriend wanted to stop the thief and I thought we didn't need to do anything because the store alarm would go off when the person left. It didn't go off.

So we were left with a dilemma, should we chase after her or notify the staff? Since we didn't know if our thief was armed, we opted to notify the store's staff. They thanked us and told us it wasn't our responsibility to chase down thieves. We were a little taken aback since they didn't think it was necessary to catch the culprit (who was still in the mall) and made fun of us when we pressed the issue. We wrote a complaint letter to the company.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are an eyewitness to a crime, it's a good idea to tell the victim or store before you storm off to chase the culprit down (if you are so inclined). If you are a victim of a crime, you can search for various types of victim's assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice's Directory of Victim Services web page.

If you witness or suspect other types of criminal activity such as illegal drug smuggling, Internet crime, or even happen upon a suspicious package, you can find the appropriate contact on our Pueblo website. Remember though that the best place to go to report any crime is your local police department.

Have you ever witnessed a crime? If so, what did you do?

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: crime   crime_prevention   criminal   jake   police   prevent_crime   theft