NSP to Address Seat Belt Safety at Midlands Auto Show

Nebraska State Troopers will be highlighting the effectiveness of seat belts with interactive displays at the largest auto show in the region. The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) booth at the Midlands International Auto Show will feature tools and techniques troopers use throughout the state to demonstrate the power of seat belts and the dangers of distracted driving.

“Our troopers care deeply about public safety,” Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol said. “Spreading the word about distracted driving and promoting seat belt use is an important effort because it affects anyone who travels in a vehicle.”

The Midlands International Auto Show runs Thursday, January 24, through Sunday, January 27, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. Visitors will have the opportunity to view many of the latest innovations in the automotive industry. They’ll also have the opportunity to experience hands-on demonstrations and safety messages from NSP Troopers.

Troopers will showcase safety tools like the NSP Persuader, which rotates a rider upside down to demonstrate the power of seat belts to keep an occupant in the seat during a rollover crash. The NSP Rollover Simulator shows what may happen in a rollover crash to a person who isn’t buckled up.

According to statistics from the Nebraska Department of Transportation – Highway Safety Office (NDOT-HSO), there were 4,699 drivers involved in distracted driving crashes in Nebraska in 2017, causing 19 fatalities. Also in 2017, 71 percent of the people who lost their lives in passenger vehicle crashes in Nebraska were not wearing their seat belt.