• 24
  • May
    2011

Annual Click It or Ticket Campaign Runs Through June 5

Local law enforcement has teamed up with New York state troopers for New York's annual Click it or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign. Starting yesterday, May 23rd, law enforcement is on the patrol for drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts.

In addition to targeting drivers not wearing seat belts, local law enforcement agencies are also paying close attention to teen drivers and nighttime drivers.

Teenage drivers are even less likely to wear a seat belt than most adults, so officers in several local communities will be focusing closely on teen drivers. The Yorktown Police Chief urges parents to talk to their teens about buckling up, "While the national average for seat -belt usage is approaching 90 percent, the teen usage rate is only 46 percent, even when riding with a seat-belted adult."

The campaign also includes safety checkpoints that will be staffed both during the day and at night. Troopers are making a point to staff checkpoints at night because statistics show that nighttime drivers and passengers are the least likely to wear their seat belts and the most likely to be killed in a motor vehicle accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, two-thirds of those killed in nighttime crashes were not wearing seatbelts.

One state police commander said, "Perhaps people feel less likely to be stopped at night for not wearing seatbelts, but they are putting themselves at tremendous risk. We are focusing our enforcement efforts on the behaviors that are injuring and killing people on our roads, and that means safety belt enforcement day and night."

During last year's enforcement campaign, state troopers issued over 22,000 traffic tickets.

The increased enforcement runs through Sunday, June 5.