Police support 'every bunny' wearing seatbelts

Lions, bears and bunnies? Oh my!

As part of the "Every Bunny Should Buckle Up" seat belt safety program, the State College Police Department handed out stuffed bunnies to properly seat-belted children last weekend.

This is the third year State College police have participated in the program.

"It's a very rewarding promotion," said State College Traffic Police Sergeant Jeffrey Chiston. "It instills good seat belt safety habits in children."

Fifteen other law enforcement agencies participate in the annual program. Funding for the bunnies comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which also chose the type of animal purchased. In previous years, the program used lions and bears.

The white bunnies, which cost the NHSA $1, are clad in blue shirts, reading "Every Bunny Should Buckle Up."

State College police received several dozen bunnies for local distribution. They are instructed to give out bunnies in routine traffic stops and stressful situations where children are visibly upset and need something to calm them.

But random traffic stops and anxious situations are not the only way bunnies are distributed.

While patrolling the Nittany Mall parking lot, Chiston sometimes made on-the-spot awards to children he observed being unbuckled by their parents.

The bunnies are given as awards to instill positive reinforcement of seat belt safety habits, Chiston said. Another favorable side effect of the program is the promotion of good community and police relations, he added.

The program is very rewarding to children, said Chuck Yorks, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation community relations coordinator.

Yorks, who is responsible for distributing bunnies to police, said children who participate in this program are more likely to be more responsible drivers and passengers as adults. Young people are often thought of as ambassadors of safety, he added.