Seat Belt Enforcement Friday in Rutherford County

Encouraging drivers to wear seat belts and to protect children in child restraint seats will be the focus of an enforcement effort Friday by the Rutherford County Traffic Safety Task Force.

Police from the task force will watch for drivers not wearing seat belts and children not secured in child seats from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday in Murfreesboro and Smyrna.

Murfreesboro Police Lt. Greg Walker said the enforcement is part of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign for increased seat belt use runs from May 22-June 4. It is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.

“We want to try and reduce the number of crashes, especially those injury-related from people not using their seatbelt or placing children in the proper child restraint device,” Walker said.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Shawn Boyd said troopers will enforce the law and emphasize seat belts and child restraint device use.

“THP knows seat belts save lives,” Boyd said. “Properly installed and used child restraint devices also help save the lives of smaller children.”

Rutherford County Sheriff’s Sgt. Sean Vinson said deputies will watch for drivers not wearing seat belts and children who are not restrained in child safety seats.

Smyrna Police Sgt. Andy Miller said Smyrna officers will concentrate their efforts in the city.

Walker said officers will conduct heavy enforcement of traffic laws to keep travelers safe as part of safety efforts during the Memorial Day weekend.

People may want to download the Tennessee Child Passenger Safety app giving detailed information about child passenger safety at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tn-child-passenger-safety/id924175299.