Police plan seatbelt checkpoint

Acting on federal data that show that people are less likely to buckle up after dark, the D.C. and Prince George's County police departments plan to set up a checkpoint on their mutual border Wednesday.

The checkpoint will operate at Bladensburg Road and Eastern Avenue NE, from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunset on Wednesday is 8:15 p.m.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data indicate that 70 percent of people killed in accidents between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in 2008 were not wearing seat belts. Slightly more than half of those killed during the other 12 hours of the day were not using their seatbelts.

-- Ashley Halsey III