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Click It Or Ticket Campaign Begins Today Targeting Unbuckled Motorists
May 24, 2010
With a mandate to enforce Florida’s primary safety belt law, authorities across the state are gearing up to pull over and ticket unbuckled motorists during the annual statewide Click it or Ticket campaign that begins this Monday.
Last year, Florida lawmakers passed legislation requiring all motorists to buckle up in moving vehicles. This is the first year the new law will be in effect during the campaign’s enforcement period from May 24 through June 6, which includes the Memorial Day holiday weekend – a time when many motorists take to the roads for the long weekend.
“Seat belts save lives,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos. “During this Memorial Day Click it or Ticket campaign, all Floridians are encouraged to make safe decisions and buckle up each and every time they are on the road.”
Regular safety belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. The most recent traffic crash data (2008) shows that in Florida, 1,795 people in safety-belt-equipped vehicles died in automobile collisions. Sixty percent of them were not wearing their safety belt.
Florida reached a record 85.2 percent safety belt usage rate last year following FDOT’s Click it or Ticket campaign and the passage of the state’s primary enforcement law. The national safety belt use rate for 2009 was 84 percent.
During a kickoff event at the State Capitol Building, FDOT Assistant Secretary Debbie Hunt and other FDOT leaders were joined by Capt. Mark Welch of the Florida Highway Patrol, Col. David Dees of the Motor Carrier Compliance, Capt. Gene Revell of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Dennis Jones of the Tallahassee Police Department – who all pledged to promote safety belt use through the enforcement of the primary law.
FDOT also revealed that since the new law went into effect last July, more than 350,000 tickets have been issued to motorists statewide for not wearing their safety belts on Florida’s roadways.
“The primary point of Click it or Ticket is not to get people to pay up, but to buckle up,” said Col. John Czernis, Director of the Florida Highway Patrol. “Ensuring the safety of Florida’s motorists and increasing the number of lives saved as a direct result of wearing a safety belt every time you get in a car is our primary concern.”
In addition to increased daytime enforcement, officers will also conduct heavy patrols and safety efforts during the evening hours to find unbuckled motorists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that nighttime drivers and passengers are far less likely to use their safety belts. Based on 2008 data, approximately 671 people in Florida who were not wearing a safety belt, died in traffic crashes between the hours of 6 p.m. – 6 a.m.
Comments
9 Responses to “Click It Or Ticket Campaign Begins Today Targeting Unbuckled Motorists”
Whitepunk – If you didn’t have LEO checking this everyone would be speeding more and no one would be held accountable for theie actions.
This isn’t Germany, no Autobahn here.
I think it is just plum stupid to get pulled over for not having a seat belt on and sure is a dumb law,although it is a very good to wear one,but a stupid law.How come you don’t have to wear a helmut while rideing a motorcycle now that is plain acinine. they need to be pulled over and get a ticket.
nothing but a money racket…a law requiring children to wear seatbelts is one thing, but shouldn’t it be my choice since I am not a minor??
Or they could just start making all the cars with the breathalizer test before the engine will start, like they hook to some cars already.
george….YOU are so right, But that would make too much sense, and it actually would require effort. Great idea!!
they would save more lives if they staked out the bars and gave sobriety tests to folks leaving. just a thought.
Finally, Florida has joined the majority of states that have primary seat belt laws. Yes, I think it is unfortunate that a seat belt law is necessary. You would think that everyone would want to use the only piece of safety equipment designed to keep occupants from being ejected from their vehicles and killed in traffic crashes in our state. Seat belts are designed to prevent occupant ejection — plain and simple. Of course, they only work if you use them.
I can’t think of anyone who would be so reckless as to climb into a roller coaster or other ride at Disney World and NOT buckle up or use the restraint provided before zooming down the track at 50+ miles per hour. However, some people would not think twice about jumping in their car and go whizzing down the Interstate at 80+ mph with no seat belt on. Does this make sense to you?
This is just another excuse for people to be inconvenienced and potentially have their vehicle searched by LEO.
Traffic enforcement is nothing more than what LEO does when they don’t have anything important to do. No crimes to solve, no fugitives to apprehend…. let’s sit on the side of the road with a radar gun and “catch” people who are violating the absurdly low “speed limits”! That’s the LEO bread and butter, especially FHP. I personally find it an offensive waste of my tax dollars.
More revenue!!!