Click It or Ticket campaign under way this week

Coast law enforcement agencies are joining the Department of Transportation’s national Click It or Ticket campaign this week to remind drivers to buckle up.

The seat belt campaign started Monday and runs through June 5, a period that encompasses the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

“We want the act of buckling up to become automatic to all drivers and passengers,” said Sgt. Jason DuCré. “It’s not just a safe thing to do – it’s the law.

“During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working with our fellow law enforcement officers across local and state lines to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented.”

According to NHTSA, in 2020, there were 10,893 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 58% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement.

Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

“You may think you’re safe and it can’t happen to you as long as you’re in a certain vehicle, or on a certain road, but the truth is, you’re safest when you buckle up, no matter what,” DuCre’ said. “Unfortunately, many families are suffering because their loved ones refused to follow this simple step. We lose too many community members because they did not buckle their seat belts. More than twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females, with lower belt use rates, too.

“If 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 life-saving 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.”