Letters to the Editor, March 10, 2010

Published: March 10, 2010

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Regarding 'Burn Ban'

EDITOR: I agree with Art Spengler's letter published March 6, 2010. Residents need to report violators, and violators need to be fined, under existing regulations. There is no need for additional regulation, on this issue. I urge members of Borough Council to move in this direction.

Dick McGuire

Towanda

Buckling up

EDITOR: I would appreciate the opportunity to respond to your Feb. 24 editorial regarding Pennsylvania's seat belt use.

We at PennDOT completely agree with your bringing seat-belt usage to the forefront as a safety issue. The simple act of putting on a seat belt or properly restraining your child is one easy step you can take to increase your chances of surviving a crash.

And while it is true that our statewide seat belt usage rate - 87.9 percent in 2009 - could go up if we had a primary seat belt law, our seat belt use is going up. Our rate of 85.1 percent in 2008 was better than that of eight primary seat-belt law states, while only five states with secondary laws had a better rate.

Also, our rate has been above the national average since 2005. The 2009 national average was 84 percent, and our 86.3 percent usage in 2006 beat the nation's 81 percent, while our 2007 rate of 86.7 percent bested the national 82 percent.

I also note that although 16-24 year olds may have a higher portion of unrestrained fatalities, there were 451 total unrestrained fatalities in 2009, down from 561 in 2008. In fact, there were 1,256 highway deaths in 2009, a record-low number for Pennsylvania. While each death is a tragic loss to families and communities, we are making progress to save lives.

We agree that education is important in making our highways safer. PennDOT takes an active role in seat-belt enforcement and education, with $2.5 million in federal funding being distributed in 2009 for Click it or Ticket enforcement and facilitating child-seat safety checks statewide.

We urge motorists to buckle up every time they travel. To learn about PennDOT's safety efforts and how you can become a safer driver, visit www.DriveSafePA.org.

Allen D. Biehler, P.E.

Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Harrisburg, Pa.

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