New officers crack down on seat belt violations | People

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – There have been nearly 50 fatal accidents where a seat belt was not used in Columbus County between 2007 and 2011.

This year the county has a seat belt usage rate of 75.5%, which is the lowest of 15 other rural counties surveyed.

Two officers joined in October the traffic team for the Columbus County Sheriff's Office to focus on seat belt violations and speeding.

They join two other officers who were hired in October 2010 to focus on DWI and speeding. Officials say the number of traffic accidents has gone down since the traffic team was formed.

Nearly 100 seat belt violations have been written since the beginning of October. According to Sgt. Blake Potter, a lot of people fail to wear their seat belts while driving around the courthouse.

Overall, the traffic team has concluded a total of 362 charges since October 1.

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