The Seymour Police Department recently participated in Operation Pullover’s Blitz 88, Safe Family Travel, during the holidays.

Eleven officers worked overtime enforcing the state’s seat belt law and observing for impaired drivers.

This blitz was funded by a federal grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Officers working overtime were paid with this grant.

During the blitz, the city officers worked 68 hours and conducted 207 traffic stops, according to a news release from the department. They issued 166 warning tickets, 89 tickets and made nine criminal arrests, including one for possession of methamphetamine and another one for being a habitual traffic violator.

A pre-blitz enforcement seat belt survey indicated drivers in Seymour wore their seat belts 94.8 percent of the time, and passengers wore their seat belts 93.8 percent of the time.

After the blitz, a survey indicated an increase in seat belt usage in Seymour up to 97.8 percent and passengers increased as well, up to 98.7 percent.

Both Seymour’s pre- and post-enforcement surveys indicated that Seymour’s seat belt usage is higher than the compliance rate for the state.