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Beginning on Monday, May 20, law enforcement agencies throughout the country will be participating in a “click it or ticket” campaign that will last through Sunday, June 2.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked that all states participate in the border-to-border campaign, which “ is coordinated by participating state highway safety offices and their respective law enforcement liaisons.”
Police said that the border-to-border program “ aims to increase law enforcement participation by coordinating highly visible seat belt enforcement and providing seat belt fact sheets for drivers at heavily traveled, highly visible state border checkpoints.”
According to NHTSA, in 2017, there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night - between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. - were not wearing their seat belts.
“That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign and the B2B kickoff event is nighttime enforcement,” officials said. “Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.”
Officials noted that almost twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females, with lower belt use rates. Of the males killed in crashes in 2017, more than half were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 39 percent were not buckled up.
“The Border to Border component of the Click It or Ticket campaign is so important because it raises awareness about seat belt safety during the time period when seat belts are least used,” Stony Point Police Chief Brian Moore said. “With an increased number of cars flooding the streets due to the Memorial Day holiday, it’s imperative we get the word out about the importance of seat belt safety.
“If the enforcement crackdown wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success,” he added. “f you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to consider changing their habits. Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. Seat belts save lives, and everyone—front seat and back, child and adult—needs to remember to buckle up—every trip, every time.”
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