Iowa’s sTEP (special Traffic Enforcement Program) invites statewide participation by all law enforcement in Iowa in a cooperative “high visibility” traffic enforcement effort coordinated around a holiday.  There are 5 enforcement events ranging from 4 to 14 days and two of the waves are in connection with national campaigns. These events call for heightened traffic enforcement for all traffic violations with the main effort to raise awareness in safety belt use as the best means of protection in the case of a motor vehicle collision.

Occupant Protection

1. It is well established that seat belts save lives. However, many pregnant women do not wear seat belts, for fear that the belt itself could injure the baby in a car crash. But is this actually the case? Does the seat belt put the baby at risk?

A group of researchers led by Dr. Stacie Zelman from Wake Forest University examined a national database of over two million injured patients, and found over 2,400 pregnant women injured in car crashes. Women wearing a seat belt, having an air bag, or both were significantly less likely to have pregnancy-related complications than women with neither a seat belt nor an air bag. The combination of a seat belt and air bag resulted in the lowest rate of complications.

The researchers conclude that pregnant women should use seat belts with confidence that they will help, not hurt, in a crash.

Nightime Seat Belt Enforcement

2. What is considered night time enforcement and what is considered day time enforcement?

For sTEP and grant enforcement purposes GTSB has established the following:

Night time is between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 am.

Day time is between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.