The Madison Police Department is cracking down on seat belt use this week to coincide with National Child Passenger Safety Week, running Sunday, Feb. 9 through Saturday, Feb. 15. Authorities are implementing increased enforcement as a way to raise awareness on how to correctly transport children in motor vehicles.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,579 children under the age of 15 died in car crashes in 2001. In 2000, 52 percent of children killed in car crashes under 12 were not wearing seat belts, 18 percent were wearing their seat belts incorrectly, and 35 percent were riding in the front seat. The CDC also said children under 12 can be injured severely by the passenger-side airbags in many cars.

It is against the law in Wisconsin to ride in a vehicle without wearing a seat belt, and the Madison Police Department hopes to enforce this law by giving $10 tickets to those who do not wear a seat belt.

“Currently, because of the state legislature, it is not legal for police officers to pull a car over just because the passengers are not wearing a seat belt,” said Sgt. James Acre.

Acre said that because officers cannot pull people over specifically for not wearing a seat belt, they only give these tickets when they pull someone over for another reason.

Students with cars have different views on wearing their seat belts. University of Wisconsin senior Emilkae Danielczyk said she always wears her seat belt.

“It’s safe, and I was brought up that way. You can’t just depend on air bags, because if you are hit from the side, you can still move around in the car,” said Danielczyk.

According to Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, because of previous awareness raised by the last Child Passenger Safety Week, fewer children under the age of 15 were killed in vehicle crashes in 2001 than any other year since record-keeping began in 1975.

The NHTSA posted activities and tips to teach others about child safety. One of the things they stressed the most was that children between the ages of four and eight should sit in a booster seat until they are over 4-foot-9. They invite childcare providers to learn the correct way to transport children and then inform parents when they come to pick up their children.

According to the CDC, seatbelts are very important for children, because air bags are not necessarily safe. Many children do not meet the height and weight requirements that allow the air bags to work properly.

UW junior Andrea Tuttman believes people cannot depend solely on air bags, because many older vehicles don’t have them.

“They may not always be there for protection, and not everyone meets the height and weight requirements, so it is important to wear a seat belt all the time,” said Tuttman.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the percent of seat belts used in Wisconsin is around 68, and the number of fatalities in crashes has increased by 19 percent. They also say that the correct use of seat belts, air bags and child-safety seats can significantly reduce the injury in a crash.

“There is no question that seat belts prevent injury and save lives,” said Acre.