27°
Aimed at enforcing seat belt use to help keep drivers and their families safe, the national seat belt campaign will take place in the county from Monday through June 4.
“Our law enforcement personnel see firsthand the loss of life when people refuse to buckle up,” said Sgt. Anthony Giardina of the Ramapo Police Department. “It’s such a simple thing, and it should be an automatic next step after sitting down in a vehicle.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the 22,441 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2015 were not wearing seat belts. At night from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., that number soared to 57 percent of those killed.
Almost twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females, with lower belt use rates, too. Of the males killed in crashes in 2015, more than half (52%) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42 percent were not buckled up.
This is who must wear safety restraints:
- All front seat occupants regardless of age. The driver is responsible for all front seat passengers under age 16.
- All rear seat passengers under age 16.
- All children under 4 years old must be restrained in a federally approved child safety seat.
- Children ages 4, 5, 6 and 7 must be properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint system, one that meets the child’s height and weight recommendations according to the child restraint manufacturer.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Tappan-Blauvelt and receive free news updates.
