If you were driving past Lake Highlands High School Monday morning, you might have seen six Dallas Police vehicles pulling students over. LHHS was one of three schools in Dallas chosen for the It Pays to Wear Your Seatbelt initiative, sponsored by the Dallas Police Department and the Making Connections foundation.
“At first it kinda freaked me out,” admitted senior Elizabeth Patton. “I pulled into the senior lot early and saw the police car. When he motioned me over I thought, ‘uh-oh, what did I do?’” Instead of giving tickets to students not wearing seatbelts, the officers handed out free Slurpee tickets to those caught wearing one. Teenagers are least likely to wear seatbelts and more likely to die in an accident, according to National Highway Traffic Administration statistics. Making Connections is dedicated to connecting families with cultural, educational, and community resources. Working in conjunction with the Dallas Police and the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign, they plan to educate first, reward second, and use enforcement last. LHHS, Molina High, and Mountain View College were chosen to participate.
If you’d like to support the “It Pays to Wear Your Seatbelt” program, you may contact Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Debra Lang at 214-670-5012 or send a donation to Making Connections, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, PO Box 140645, Dallas TX 75214. And you might want to remind your family – it’s Slurpee reward tickets today, violation tickets sometime soon.
