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Trenton
- Law enforcement officers throughout New
Jersey will be cracking down on unbuckled
motorists and their passengers as part of
the national “Click It or Ticket”
campaign, Division of Highway Traffic Safety
Director Pam Fischer announced today.
Beginning
May 18 and running through May 31, the effort
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. As part
of the initiative, the Division will provide
grants of $4,000 each to 190 municipalities
throughout the State. The New Jersey State
Police will also participate in the two-week
program. Additional county and municipal police
departments are expected to participate in
the initiative using their own resources.
Last year, the seat belt usage rate in New
Jersey rose for the 12th consecutive year
to 91.75%. Fischer noted that while seat belt
usage rates increase in New Jersey each year,
law enforcement and safety officials continue
to strive for a 100 percent compliance rate.
“New
Jersey has one of the strongest seat belt
usage rates in the nation, but our work isn’t
done,” Fischer added. “While the
last 10 percent is often the most difficult
to achieve, we’re confident that by
continuing to focus on enforcement and public
outreach efforts that educate motorists and
passengers about the critical importance of
buckling up, every ride, we’ll meet
our goal.”
Under
the state’s current primary seat belt
law, all motorists and passengers in the front
seat who do not buckle up face a $46 fine.
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.
“We know that only 32 percent of adults
are currently using seat belts when riding
in the back seat,” Fischer said. “Since
2003, a total of 259 unbuckled back seat passengers
have lost their lives in traffic crashes.
In 2008, only 27 percent of those back seat
passengers killed in traffic crashes were
using a seat belt. A seat belt is the single
most effective safety device in a motor vehicle.
Passengers who don’t buckle up in the
back seat not only put themselves at risk,
but everyone else in the vehicle. Unbuckled
passengers continue to move at the same rate
of speed as the vehicle they’re traveling
in until they hit something, literally becoming
‘bullets.’”
Fischer added that the impact of hitting the
seat back, the dashboard, the windshield or
even another vehicle occupant can be deadly,
stating, “It’s also not uncommon
for unbelted passengers to be thrown from
a vehicle in the event of a crash and either
crushed by that vehicle or another on the
road.
“Wearing
your seat belt, regardless of seating position,
is the simplest way to protect yourself when
you’re riding in a motor vehicle,”
Fischer stressed. “Seat belts increase
your chances of surviving a crash by as much
as 75 percent. So, whether you’re riding
in your own vehicle, or a van or car pool,
in the front or back seat, always buckle up.”
Director Fischer also noted that only 53 percent
of children and teens between the ages of
eight and 18 are buckling up in the rear of
a vehicle. Under New Jersey law, drivers are
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.
This
year’s “Click It or Ticket”
campaign will also stress the importance of
nighttime seat belt use. Nationally, 45 percent
of passenger vehicle occupants killed during
the day in 2007 were not using a seat belt,
while 63 percent of passenger vehicle occupants
killed at night were not buckled up.
A
list of agencies receiving “Click It
or Ticket” grants is available on the
Division’s web site, at www.nj.gov/oag/hts/grants/grantees.html
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