From May 21 until June 3, state and local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. will be stepping up enforcement with the Click It or Ticket campaign, a concentrated effort to be on the lookout for motorists who are not wearing restraints, such as seat belts.
Click It or Ticket is not just about writing traffic tickets. It’s about saving lives. In 2016, the most recent year for which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has data, there were 10,428 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the U.S. That number is greater than the population of Perry and of 99.5 percent of Iowa’s other towns and cities.
According to the NHTSA, 48 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2016 were unrestrained by seat belts. Almost twice as many males were killed in crashes, and they had a lower seat belt use rate. It is even worse at night, when 56 percent of the fatalities were unrestrained.
“If you have friends or family members who does not buckle up when they drive, please encourage them to make it a habit,” said Patrick Hoye, bureau chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau. “It is such a simple thing to do, and it very well could save their lives.”
The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau remind motorists that seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember to buckle up — every trip, every time!
