RCPD teams up with PCSO and SDHP for seatbelt safety campaign

Rapid City, S.D. – Ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel week, the RCPD is joining forces with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and the South Dakota Highway Patrol for a 16-hour saturation patrol focused on education and enforcement of seatbelt safety laws. The campaign will take place from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., on Tuesday, November 22nd.

 All three agencies with have designated personnel patrolling areas in and around Rapid City on the lookout for safety restraint violations. RCPD and PCSO School Liaison and School Resource Officers will also be enforcing seatbelt laws around Rapid City Area School District schools.

 Those discovered to be in compliance with seatbelt laws will be rewarded with a coupon or gift certificate generously donated by local sponsors of the seatbelt campaign.  Those sponsors are:

·         Black Hills Area Taco John’s

·         Culver’s Restaurant

·         Dixon Coffee Company

·         Pauly’s Pizzeria and Sub Company

·         Rapid City McDonald’s

·         Silver Linings Creamery

·         Sonic Drive-In

 “We hope to make a large number of positive contacts with local motorists during this campaign,” says Sgt. Cathy Bock of the RCPD’s Special Operations Division. “This is not a campaign solely focused on punishing drivers and passengers, but we hope we can use it to either reward folks for wearing their seatbelts, or to correct the dangerous and potentially deadly habit of not wearing a seatbelt.”