Trenton
- New Jersey’s front seat belt usage
rate increased for the 13th consecutive year
in 2009 to a record 92.67 percent, Division
of Highway Traffic Safety Director Pam Fischer
announced today.
An observational survey conducted
by the New Jersey Institute of Technology
immediately following the State’s recent
“Click It or Ticket” seat belt
mobilization determined the new rate -- an
increase of nearly one percent over last year’s
usage rate of 91.75 percent.
According to Fischer, the
increase means that more than 79,000 New Jerseyans
buckled up in 2009, compared to last year.
In addition, using guidelines set by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a .92
percent increase in front seat belt use will
prevent seven fatalities, 206 serious injuries
and 154 minor injuries, and will save nearly
$50 million dollars in crash-related economic
costs annually in New Jersey.
“We’re pleased to again see an
increase in the front seat belt usage rate
in New Jersey,” Fischer said. “By
simply buckling up, lives are saved. While
our traffic safety gains have continued to
grow each year, we won’t rest until
we achieve a 100 percent seat belt compliance
rate. By continuing to focus on enforcement,
public education and community outreach, we’re
confident we’ll meet that goal.”
This year, 443, or 89 percent,
of the State’s police agencies participated
in the “Click It or Ticket” mobilization,
which ran from May 18-31. As a result of the
initiative, 41,442 seat belt citations were
issued, down from 46,026 in 2008. During the
two-week initiative, police officers also
issued 891 citations for improper use of child
restraints, and 6,833 for speeding. In addition,
866 individuals were arrested for drunk driving.
The three counties with the
largest gain in seat belt use from 2008 to
2009 are: Hudson County, up 5.9 percent to
93.87 percent; Passaic County, up 4.4 percent
to 92.66 percent and Ocean County, up 3.9
percent, to 90.05 percent.
The five counties with the
highest seat belt usage rates for 2009 are:
Mercer County, 94.53 percent; Bergen County,
94.45 percent; Hudson County, 93.87 percent;
Middlesex County, 93.14 percent; and Morris
County, 93.13 percent.
Officials also continued to
call for passage of legislation that will
close the back seat loophole in New Jersey’s
current primary seat belt law. Those 18 and
over who are seated in the back seat of a
motor vehicle do not have to buckle-up. (New
Jersey’s primary seat belt law applies
to the driver, all front seat passengers and
passengers under 18 years of age regardless
of seating position. In addition, when the
driver holds a Graduated Driver License or
GDL, all passengers, regardless of age and
seating position, must be properly restrained.)
Legislation that would require belt use in
all seating positions regardless of age passed
the Assembly (A-870) in February 2008, but
has not yet been acted upon by the Senate
(S-18). Closing the loophole is one of 14
priority recommendations in the Teen Driver
Study Commission report issued to Governor
Corzine and the Legislature in March 2008.
A new web site, www.njbackseatbullets.com,
illustrating the dangers of riding unbuckled
in the back seat, was also unveiled today.
The site contains information on the lifesaving
importance of always buckling up, regardless
of where you are riding in the vehicle. The
site also includes videos that reinforce the
potentially deadly consequences unbelted backseat
passengers face in the event of a crash.
“We know that only 32
percent of adults are currently buckling up
in the back seat, while only 53 percent of
children and teens between the ages of eight
and 18 are using seat belts in the rear of
a vehicle,” Fischer said. “While
our front seat usage rate continues to climb,
thanks in great part to a primary seat belt
law that has been in effect since 2000, a
low number of adults and young people are
using restraints in the back seat. We must
continue to stress the lifesaving impact a
seat belt has on everyone riding in a vehicle,
no matter where they’re sitting. It’s
the simplest way to protect yourself and increases
your chances of surviving a crash by as much
as 75 percent.”
Fischer added that unbuckled
passengers sitting in the rear of a vehicle
risk hitting the seat back in front of them,
the dashboard, the windshield or even another
vehicle occupant, if a crash occurs, making
them a “bullet” in the event of
a crash. The passenger can also be ejected
from the vehicle resulting in serious injury
and often death.
Dr. Bruce Bonanno, an emergency
room physician at Meadowlands Hospital and
Bayshore Hospital, and the president of the
New Jersey American College of Emergency Physicians,
which supports legislation closing the back
seat loophole, stated, “Being an emergency
room doctor, I have seen firsthand what happens
when people in the back seat don't wear seat
belts. Not only are injuries more severe,
but there is a greater chance I will have
to tell someone that a loved one has died."
Additional
information on the “Click
It or Ticket” campaign is available
on the Division’s web site at www.njsaferoads.com.
#
# # |
