Nearly
150 agencies received $4,000 each to run
the seatbelt enforcement checkpoints and
saturation patrols, which will take place
May 21 to June 3.
The
crackdowns come during the Memorial Day
holiday weekend, one of the busiest times
on the roads. According to the National
Highway Transportation Safety Administration
(NHTSA), 22,187 passenger vehicle occupants
were killed in motor vehicle crashes in
2010 and 51 percent of them were not wearing
seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.
NHTSA statistics show that in 2010 alone,
seat belts saved an estimated 12,546 lives
nationwide.
“Buckling
up is the single most effective way for
a motor vehicle occupant to avoid death
or serious injury in a crash,” Division
of Highway Traffic Safety Acting Director
Gary Poedubicky said. “During what
we expect to be a highly trafficked period,
motorists and their passengers need to make
their safety the top priority and wear their
seat belt no matter how long the journey.”
The
Click It or Ticket campaign has been credited
with raising New Jersey’s seat belt
compliance numbers since the state adopted
the program in 2003. According to a 2011
observational survey conducted by Fairleigh
Dickinson University, 94.51 percent of front-seat
motorists and passengers wore their seatbelts,
compared with just 81.2 percent in 2003.
That places the Garden State among the national
leaders. However, according to Poedubicky,
back-seat compliance (61 percent) is extremely
low and there is clearly room for improvement.
“Our
goal is undoubtedly 100 percent compliance
with seatbelts. While we’ve seen the
front-seat usage rate climb every year for
the past 14 years, passengers in the back
remain at a critical risk, especially adults,
who only put on a seat belt in the back
35 percent of the time” Poedubicky
said.
Last
year, 85 percent of New Jersey police agencies,
or 419 of 493, participated in the Click
It or Ticket campaign. The mobilization
ran from May 23 to June 5 and resulted in
32,228 seat belt citations, down from 35,671
in 2010. Police officers also wrote 926
child restraint and 5,865 speeding citations,
and made 953 DWI arrests.
Legislation
passed in 2010 made it a secondary offense
for adults over the age of 18 to ride unbuckled
in the back seat of a motor vehicle. The
law allows police to issue a summons and
fine of $46 to unrestrained adults in the
back seat when the car they are riding in
is pulled over for another violation. The
state’s primary seat belt law requires
all motorists and passengers in the front
seat, including passengers under the age
of 18, to wear a seat belt or be securely
buckled in a car seat, or face a $46 fine.
This ticket is issued to the driver.