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Trenton
-- Police agencies throughout New Jersey
are gearing up for the 2008 “Click
It or Ticket” seat belt mobilization,
an annual enforcement and public education
effort designed to ensure that all motorists
buckle-up, every ride.
Beginning
May 19 and running through June 1, the national
campaign includes high visibility law enforcement
seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols,
as well as local and national publicity
designed to ensure that drivers and passengers
recognize the life-saving value of seat
belts.
To
implement the effort, the Division of Highway
Traffic Safety has awarded $4,000 grants
to 214 local police agencies throughout
the State. New Jersey State Police will
also participate in the effort. Many other
county and municipal police departments
are expected to participate in the mobilization
using their own resources. Last year, 100
percent of the State’s 496 law enforcement
agencies supported the initiative.
Division of Highway Traffic Safety Director
Pam Fischer noted that New Jersey’s
seat belt usage rate is currently 91.4 percent,
a record high for the State.
“While
seat belt use has increased over the past
decade, our work is still not done,”
she stated. “Law enforcement and safety
officials will not rest until the State
achieves a 100 percent compliance rate.
Programs such as “Click It or Ticket”
can help us meet that goal of ensuring everyone
buckles-up, every ride.”
Last year in New Jersey, 211 of the 454
drivers and passengers killed in motor vehicle
crashes were not wearing seat belts. “Using
a seat belt is the simplest way for a motorist
and his or her passengers to protect themselves
when on the road,” Fischer added.
"Motor vehicle occupants who buckle-up
are between 45 and 75 percent less likely
to face life threatening injuries in a car
crash.”
Nationally, between 1975 and 2000, seat
belts prevented 135,000 fatalities and 3.8
million injuries, saving $585 billion in
medical and other costs. Seat belt use is
particularly critical for teens and young
adults since motor vehicle crashes are the
leading cause of death for motorists 15
to 34 years of age.
Last year during New Jersey’s “Click
It or Ticket” campaign, 58,170 citations
were issued to individuals who were not
properly restrained. The number of summonses
was up from 2006, when 56,360 seat belt
citations were issued. Under the state’s
primary seat belt law, motorists and passengers
in the front seat who do not buckle up face
a $46 fine. The motorist is also responsible
for ensuring that all passengers under 18
years of age are properly restrained in
the appropriate car or booster seat and/or
seat belt. A bill is currently pending in
the Legislature that would require all back
seat passengers 18 years of age and older
to buckle up, as well. Governor Corzine
has pledged to sign the measure into law.
High visibility checkpoints will help to
promote the first two days of the mobilization
at locations in Cranford (Union County)
and Fair Lawn (Bergen County) on the morning
of May 19, while an afternoon checkpoint
will further promote the kick-off in Atlantic
City on May 20. The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration will also hold a special
event in Times Square in New York City,
on the evening of May 19, to promote the
importance of nighttime seat belt use.
A list of agencies receiving Click It or
Ticket grants is available on the Division’s
Web site, www.njsaferoads.com.
List
of Grantees by County
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