Click It or Ticket: Crawford County sheriff's goal is 100% seat belt usage
Crawford County Sheriff’s Office will be part of the national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement effort.
The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs May 20-June 2.
“We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” Sheriff Scott Kent said. “It’s not just a safe thing to do − it’s the law.”
He said during the Click It or Ticket campaign his office will work 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 you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash,” Kent said.
The national seat belt use rate in 2023 was 91.9%, which is good − but it can be better, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office. The other 8.1% still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives.
“We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time,” Kent said. “We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented.”
Participating law enforcement agencies will take a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night as one of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement.
Seat belt usage data
U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night. Seat belt use also differs among females and males. Of the males killed in crashes in 2021, more than half (54%) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42% were not buckled up.
“If the enforcement effort alerts people to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success,” Kent said.
He further asked the public to spread awareness to friends and family members who do not buckle up when they drive asking, them to consider changing their habits.
“Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction,” Kent said. “Seat belts save lives, and everyone − front seat and back, child and adult − needs to remember to buckle up.”
For more information on the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization, visit NHTSA.gov/ClickIt.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Click It or Ticket enforcement Memorial Day holiday in Crawford County
