The advertisements are aimed at male passenger vehicle occupants ages 18 to 34 years old, a group that made up 66% of unrestrained occupants killed in traffic crashes in 2010.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined law enforcement officers and national safety advocates today to launch the Department of Transportation’s 2012 “Click It Or Ticket” seat safety belt enforcement campaign. Through the Memorial Day holiday, approximately 10,000 law enforcement officers from coast-to-coast will be participating in the “Click It Or Ticket” crackdown.
This year’s police enforcement action coincides with new advertisements by DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that spoofs unsafe attempts by drivers to fake seat belt use. NHTSA data show nationwide more than three million safety belt citations have been issued during the annual crackdowns over the past five years.
There’s nothing funny of course about getting caught sitting on your safety belt. NHTSA data show safety belt use among drivers at 84% for 2011. Additional data show that seat belts have saved thousands of lives each year nationwide. nevertheless in 2010 alone, 241 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in traffic crashes during the Memorial Day holiday period. Nearly two-thirds of these fatalities occurred at night between the hours of 6:00 pm and 5:59 am—when the risk of being in a crash triples— sadly 66% of the corpses were not belted. (Click here to view the ads)
The advertisements are aimed at male passenger vehicle occupants ages 18 to 34 years old, a group that comprised 66% of unrestrained occupants killed in traffic crashes in 2010—the highest proportion among all occupants.
“Thanks to decades of hard work alongside our safety partners, drivers are buckling up when they get behind the wheel,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “But we can’t stop our safety efforts. During last year’s mobilization, law enforcement issued almost 500,000 tickets to drivers who failed to wear a seat belt. At DOT, we will continue this important work to keep everyone safe on our roadways.”
