A piece of electronic equipment that's often used by military personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq is now being used by police in Maryland to catch seat belt violators.
Wednesday night at a seat-belt enforcement checkpoint, police from several Maryland agencies started using night-vision goggles to see if motorists were buckled up.After a briefing at the Maryland State Police barracks in Rockville, where strategy was discussed, officers hit the streets in search of violators.
Authorities said 40 percent of drivers are less likely to wear their seat belts at night and that could be deadly. Maryland State Police Cpl. Kevin Sherwood said the night-vision goggles are an effective way to catch those drivers.
"Often times you can see inside, but other times you can't because the light is directly ahead," Sherwood said. "What this does is amplifies the ambient light inside the vehicle so you can actually see inside the car and see whether they actually have their seat belt on."Police said officers will continue using the night goggles.When people don't wear seat belts and get ejected from their vehicle, Sherwood said the chance they could receive injuries that could lead to death, or become maimed increases.Maryland authorities said they issued 111 citations Wednesday night as part of their "Click It or Ticket" campaign.
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Slideshow Seat Belt Enforcement Campaign
Police Catch Seat-Belt Violators
