New
Jersey Seat Belt Use Poised to
Break Record as Pre-‘Click It
or Ticket’
Survey Shows Increased Compliance
Trenton
- More New Jersey Drivers than ever
are buckling their seat belts, according
to a new independent survey of seat
belt used conducted by the New Jersey
Institute of Technology for the Division
of Highway Traffic Safety.
“The
upward trend has New Jersey poised
to set a new record in seat belt use,”
Division Director Roberto Rodriguez
said. Seat belt use has increased
in New Jersey for nine consecutive
years.
The NJIT survey was released in advanced
of the annual ‘Click
It or Ticket’ mobilization,
which will run this year from
Monday, May 22nd to June 4th.
This year’s NJIT “pre-mobilization’‘
survey shows a preliminary usage rate
of 84.25 percent, which is nearly
six percentage points higher than
a year ago when a similar pre-mobilization
survey was taken. Following last year’s
campaign, seat belt use registered
at 86 percent, a four percentage point
hike from 2004.
“We
have not seen these kinds of pre-mobilization
numbers before a “Click It or
Ticket campaign” said Division
Director Rodriguez. “We are
positioned to see seat belt compliance
reach record levels in New Jersey.
That can lead to reduced crash-related
fatalities and serious injuries on
our roadways. ‘Click It or Ticket
is making a difference.”
Following the ‘Click It or Ticket’
mobilization, NJIT will conduct another
survey to gauge the effectiveness
of the campaign. Historically, seat
belt use increases several percentage
points following the mobilization.
Last year, use increased by almost
eight percentage points.
Director Rodriguez said high percentages
open the door to increased federal
funding for future campaigns. He said
New Jersey has repeatedly demonstrated
that it has the structure in place
to make the seat belt initiative work.
It is done through public education
and statewide participation by law
enforcement agencies. The Division
awarded $4,000
grants to 156 police agencies
this year to cover over-time costs
of high-visibility seatbelt checkpoints.
|