Click it or Ticket campaign is now underway
May 7—By GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — West Virginia's motorists were being reminded Monday that May is when the national Click It or Ticket campaign aims to make sure drivers and passengers alike safeguard their lives by using their seat belts.
Every year law enforcement, fire departments and emergency medical services respond to vehicle crashes with injuries that can be avoided because occupants do not wear their seat belts. From being thrown from the vehicle to tossed around inside of it — unnecessary injuries are the ultimate outcome, according to Lt. A.M. Ballard with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department and WV Coalfields Highway Safety Program.
The month of May is chosen as the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign throughout the country, in efforts to raise awareness and increase the use of seat belts. As part of the campaign, increased high visibility enforcement efforts from law enforcement will be targeting those drivers and occupants that don't wear their seat belt.
Last year, West Virginia saw a seat belt use rate at 93% — which is above the 91% national average, but Ballard said there are still areas where officials need to see improvements.
Some of the regional counties, such as McDowell and Mingo, see the lowest percentage of seat belt use throughout the entire state, Ballard said.
For the six-county highway safety region including the counties of McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Summers and Wyoming, law enforcement agencies typically see about 45% or more of occupants killed in crashes who were not wearing their seat belt, Ballard said.
This six-county region is averaging 26 traffic related deaths per year for the past five years, and the region's seat belt use rates have been near 90% for each of those years.
When these figures are compared with the ones from 2012 and earlier, the region was averaging 45 traffic deaths per year and had about an 80% seat belt use rate. Ballard said he believes this shows that there is a direct correlation with the more often drivers and passengers wear their seat belts, the less likely they will die or be severely injured in a crash.
"If you know someone who does not buckle up, please ask them to change their habit — it could save their life," Ballard said. "Simply put, if you don't wear your seat belt for yourself — wear it for your family, friends, and co-workers. Law enforcement across the country will be cracking down on those not wearing it and issuing citations because it is the law. Remember "Click It or Ticket."
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
