Gulfport Police remind drivers of Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign

As an integral part of this year’s national Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign, which May 24 to June 6, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will be teaming up with law enforcement nationwide for a Border to Border kickoff event.

State and local law enforcement agencies across the nation are stepping up enforcement to crack down on motorists who are not wearing their seat belts.

Click It or Ticket isn’t about citations; it’s about saving lives. In 2019, there were 9,466 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States.

While that was a decrease from 2018, an early study for 2020 suggests that during the COVID-19 public health emergency, driving patterns and behaviors changed significantly. Of those drivers who remained on the roads, there was more risky behavior, including people not wearing seat belts.

Buckle Up the Right Way.  Always place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck, and place the lap belt across your hips, not your stomach. You should never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under your arm. And remember: always buckle up.

There also seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their large vehicle will protect them better than other vehicles would in a crash. The numbers say otherwise: 59% of truck occupants who were killed in 2017 were not buckled up. That’s compared to 42% of passenger car occupants who were not wearing seat belts when they were killed. Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash.