Click It or Ticket Campaign Leads To 30 Citations: Westport PD

Shared by Westport Police Department:

SPRING CLICK IT OR TICKET CAMPAIGN A SUCCESS FOR THE WESTPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Westport Police Department participated in the annual Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement campaign, held May 20th through June 2nd. Westport officers wrote a total of 30 citations for seat belt violations in the process. The purpose of the campaign, which coincided with the busy Memorial Day holiday, was twofold: to combine increased enforcement and a zero-tolerance policy, with effective communication to road users on the importance of seat belt use.

“These national campaigns are a way for our law enforcement community to come together to stress the lifesaving importance of seat belt safety. Issuing tickets was not our goal, but it was a way to remind people of the importance of such a simple action,” said Westport Police Captain David Farrell.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2017 were unrestrained. During this year’s campaign, NHTSA urged law enforcement nationwide to issue seat belt citations to anyone caught in violation of the law—during the day, and especially at night, when 55 percent of those killed are unrestrained. By adding patrols at night, and training officers on specific techniques to catch nighttime violators, the campaign—and the nighttime focus—was a “major success,” according to Captain Farrell.

The national seat belt use rate in 2017 was 89.7 percent. The Click It or Ticket campaign is aimed at the remaining 10.3 percent of motorists and passengers who still don’t buckle up. Thousands of lives could be saved each year if every person was properly restrained on the road.