As we near the end of 2019, Guthrie County has so far fortunately had no fatal vehicle wrecks in the last two years.

This may be due to a high number of seat belt wearers, according to Panora Police Chief Matt Reising. The Panora Police Department is taking part in the Iowa Special Traffic Enforcement Program, which involves taking a seat belt survey of 100 drivers both before and after the sTEP enforcement period lasts from December 13th-January 1st. Reising says the first survey went well, with around 90 percent of the drivers wearing seat belts.

Though some motorists point out to Reising that people can die in vehicle wrecks while wearing a seat belt, he stresses the significance of buckling up, “The goal is to try to reduce those deaths in Iowa, that’s what we ultimately want to do. This is just one piece of that pie, I mean there’s many other things that contribute to deaths in Iowa but if the majority of the time if you’re going to survive a vehicle collision with a seatbelt on then why wouldn’t you do that? So that’s the main message.”

Beside the risk riding unbuckled can pose to yourself and other passengers, Reising mentions that a written ticket costs around $190 for violations.