Jamestown Police Department Launches “Click It or Ticket” Mobilization to Boost Safety Belt Use and to Save Lives.

National, State and Local Law Enforcement Blitz Zeroing in on One in Five Americans Who Still Don’t Get It.

Nearly one in five Americans (or 18 percent nationally) still fail to regularly wear their safety belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle, according to a new report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Among those least likely to buckle up:  young males, pickup truck drivers and their passengers, people who live in rural areas, and night-time drivers. 

 On North Main Road, the percentage of drivers and passengers observed not wearing their safety belts is 41 percent. Failure to regularly wear a safety belt can be deadly.  According to NHTSA, 31,693 passenger vehicle occupants died in traffic crashes during 2004 – and 55 percent of those killed were NOT wearing their safety belts at the time of the crash. 

 That’s why the Jamestown Police Department announced they are joining with more than 12,000 other State and local law enforcement and highway safety officials during late May for an aggressive national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization to crack down on Rhode Island’s safety belt law violators and to reduce highway fatalities.

 Regular safety belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.  When worn correctly, safety belts have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent – and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs and mini-vans.

 Safety belt checkpoints and other stepped-up law enforcement activities will be conducted during the national “Click It or Ticket” enforcement mobilization, which runs May 22^nd through June 4^th.  The mobilization is being supported by millions of dollars in paid national and state advertisements encouraging all Americans, but especially the targeted non-belts users, to always buckle up.

 For more information on the national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization, please visit www.buckleupamerica.org.