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GLACIER PARK INTERNATION- AL AIRPORT LANDS CHICAGO DEAL, BREAKS JULY RECORD
Air travelers will have a new direct flight this winter from Kalispell to Chi- cago.
United Airlines has agreed to fly round-trip from Glacier Park Interna- tional Airport to Chicago O’Hare Inter- national from Dec. 20 through April 4. The flights will operate on Saturdays.
Kalispell already has summer flights to Chicago.
The new service is the first deal in- volving the upstart Glacier AERO — a nonprofit named the Airline Enhance- ment Regional Organization — that raised donations from the community to help increase local airline services. Gla- cier AERO provide a revenue guarantee of $240,000 to secure the new Chicago service.
“We’re thrilled about it. Our capac- ity in the summer is very good and we’re excited to give this a run,” said Paul Jo- hannsen with Glacier AERO.
Air travel continues to grow at GPIA, and July set an all-time record for pas- sengers with 35,137 arriving and 36,552 departing, according to airport officials.
Air traffic is up 13 percent so far this year.
“The growing consumer demand re- flects the appeal of the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park region,” stat- ed Airport Director Cindi Martin. “We appreciate our airline partners and their demonstrated faith in the region - add- ing up-gauged aircraft, increased flight frequency and service to/through more hubs.”
GPIA is served by Alaska, Allegiant, Delta and United with year-round ser- vice to Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Seattle. Additional seasonal service flies to Atlanta, Chica- go, Los Angeles, Oakland/San Francisco and Portland.
STUDY EXAMINES LOW SEAT BELT USAGE IN MONTANA
In a car that crashes while traveling at 35 mph, an unrestrained rear-seat passenger can cause as much damage to the driver as a fall from a height of 40 feet onto a hard surface. This is one of the dangers of not using a seat belt that often is overlooked, according to a new paper recently released by Montana KIDS COUNT at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the Univer- sity of Montana.
The report explores traffic fatalities associated with not being buckled while riding in a car.
According to the Montana Highway
Patrol, not using a seat belt was a factor in 186 of the 244 deaths that occurred on Montana roads in 2013.
“Our state has a seat belt usage rate that has hovered between 77 and 80 per- cent for years,” said Daphne Herling, for- mer director of Montana KIDS COUNT and the report’s author. “That’s lower than all our neighboring states, and we have not seen the same rate of improve- ment as North and South Dakota, Idaho and Wyoming.”
The new research paper examines some of the reasons behind the choice to not wear a seat belt.
“Some of those reasons are based on mistaken beliefs that people hold re- garding seat belt use,” stated Thale Dil- lon, current director of Montana KIDS COUNT. “Others are downright foolish. My personal favorite is of those who say they’d rather be thrown clear in a crash. In fact, being ejected from a vehicle is one of the most serious events that can happen during a crash, with over three- quarters of ejected vehicle occupants being killed.”
Montana had the highest rate of traf- fic deaths per miles traveled in the coun- try in 2011, according to Dillon. The fac- tors that contribute to generating this rate include impaired driving, driving on rural roads, driving at high speeds, inexperience and distracted driving.
In 2011, 44 percent of traffic fatali- ties were alcohol-related, another rate that is the highest in the country, ac- cording to state statistics.
Of all the ways to reduce the number of deaths that occur on our state’s roads, the simplest and cheapest is to use a seat belt while traveling in a motor vehicle, according to the paper.
Montana has a secondary seat belt law, meaning that law enforcement per- sonnel cannot make a traffic stop based solely on the failure to wear a seat belt. The penalty for not wearing a seat belt is $20. The penalty is a misdemeanor and is not counted against a driver’s record. The penalty for failure to use a child safety restraint is a fine of no more than $100.
“It is well-documented that upgrad- ing seat belt laws from secondary to primary enforcement increases seat belt use and, as a consequence, reduces traffic-related fatalities and serious in- juries,” Herling said. “Efforts to enact a primary seat belt law in Montana have been in place in every legislative session since 2003. While we have primary en- forcement laws for child restraints for children under age 6 and less than 60 pounds, the Montana Department of Transportation has identified the need to change the existing law to increase the height and weight requirements for child passenger safety.”
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