Authorities advised motorists today that the Essex County Sheriff’s Office will join with municipal police from around the New Jersey in cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign.
According to officials, beginning May 21st and running through June 3rd, the annual “Click It or Ticket” national mobilization utilizes high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, in combination with local and national publicity efforts, to reiterate the life-saving value of seatbelts.
“Using a seatbelt is the simplest way for a driver and his or her passengers to protect themselves when traveling,” said Sheriff Fontoura. "In 2016, it is estimated that more than 14,500 lives were saved nationally by the proper use of seat belts.”
Authorities said that a key focus of this year’s campaign is to promote seatbelt usage by adults in all seating positions in the vehicle, both front and rear seats. The front seat belt usage rate in New Jersey currently stands at 94.07%.
However, adults riding in rear seats are buckling up at a significantly lower rate, only 48% in the most recent survey. “For whatever reason there seems to be a disconnect with people feeling they don’t need to buckle up when riding as a passenger in rear seats, and this is a concern,” he said.
Officials said during last year’s “Click it or Ticket” campaign, 350 New Jersey police agencies participated in the two-week initiative. As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued 17,792 seat belt citations, 6,363 speeding summonses and made 976 impaired driving arrests.