Thanksgiving Seat Belt Campaign Under Way In Vernon

VERNON, CT — An intensive Thanksgiving holiday seat belt enforcement campaign has begun in Vernon.

It's part of the federal Click-It-Or Ticket program and will be running through Dec 2, police said. Law enforcement agencies throughout the area are teaming up to enforce "unbelted operators and passengers."

The goal to "increase law enforcement participation by coordinating highly visible seat belt enforcement and providing seat belt fact sheets for drivers at heavily traveled, highly visible state border checkpoints," police said.

According to the NHTSA, in 2017, there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

Connecticut law requires all drivers and passengers in the front seat, regardless of the
occupant's age, as well as all children under 16 in all positions to wear seatbelts. Fines start at a
minimum of $92 for first offense.

"If the enforcement crackdown wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success," Lt. Luke Gallant said. "If you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to consider changing their habits. Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. Seat belts save lives, and everyone—front seat and back, child and adult—needs to remember to buckle up—every trip, every time."

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.