Click It or Ticket

KANSAS CITY, MO--(Marketwire - May 20, 2011) - Area law enforcement agencies will join The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), national law enforcement officers and highway safety advocates across the country for the 2011 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization, May 23-June 5.

During the mobilization, officers will be cracking down on motorists who fail to wear their seat belts -- both day and night.

Because nighttime passenger vehicle occupants are among those least likely to buckle up and most likely to die in crashes when unrestrained, nighttime enforcement has become a priority of the Click It or Ticket mobilization. Of those who died in nighttime crashes in 2009, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) were not wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.

In 2009, 11,593 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes nationwide between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Kansas Stats
Specifically in Kansas during 2009, 88 people died unbelted at night, compared to 77 who died unbelted during the day.

"Law enforcement will be cracking down on Click It orTicket violators around the clock. Local motorists should be prepared to buckle up. If law enforcement finds you on the road unbuckled anytime or anywhere, you can expect to get a ticket -- not a warning. No excuses and no exceptions," said Romell Cooks, Regional Administrator, NHTSA Region 7.

CIOT Works
High-visibility enforcement such as the Click It or Ticket mobilization is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an observed usage rate of 85 percent in 2010. Belt use saves thousands of lives each year across America. In 2009 alone, seat belts saved 12,713 lives nationwide.

Remember this May 23 to June 5: It's Click It or Ticket. Buckle up and encourage your loved ones to do the same. You'll save the cost of a ticket and may even save a life.