Law enforcement officers will join police from around the country in cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign.
From May 21 to June 3, there will be high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, in combination with local and national publicity efforts, to reiterate the lifesaving value of seat belts, according to information provided by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
A key focus of this year’s campaign is to promote seat belt usage by adults in all seating positions, both front and rear. The front seat belt usage rate in New Jersey is currently 94.07 percent, but rear belt usage is only 48 percent, Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the division, cited in the statement.
In 2016, more than 14,500 lives were saved nationally by the proper use of seat belts, according to the statement. During the 2017 Click It or Ticket campaign, 350 New Jersey police agencies participated in the two-week initiative, and issued 17,792 seat belt citations, 6,363 speeding summonses and made 976 impaired driving arrests, according to the statement.
