Click It or Ticket campaign reminds drivers: Buckle up
ELKHART — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging drivers to buckle up ahead of a national Click It or Ticket high-visibility seat belt enforcement effort.
The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 20 to June 2.
Campaign organizers want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike, saying it’s not just a safe thing to do – it’s the law.
During the Click It or Ticket campaign, the Elkhart County Traffic Safety Partnership will be working with 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 motorists can do to limit injury or save lives during a crash. Police often see the results of not wearing a seat belt.
The national seat belt use rate in 2023 was 91.9 percent, which is good – but it can be better, organizers said.
Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.
One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night. Also, seat belt use differs among females and males. Of the males killed in crashes in 2021, more than half (54 percent) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42 percent were not buckled up.
More information on the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization is available at NHTSA.gov/ClickIt.
The Elkhart County Traffic Safety Partnership includes the following agencies from Elkhart County: Elkhart City Police Department, Goshen City Police Department, Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office, Nappanee Police Department, Bristol Police Department, and Wakarusa Police Department.
