Naperville Click It Or Ticket Campaign Yields 26 Tickets

NAPERVILLE, IL -- Between May 22 and June 4, Naperville police conducted a seat belt enforcement campaign, which yielded 26 citations for seat belt violations. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of the importance of seat belts.

“It was a successful campaign this year, and we believe we helped save lives through our enforcement efforts,” said Naperville Police Sgt. Derek Zook, according to a press release. "We know seat belts save lives in vehicle crashes."

Click It or Ticket is a national campaign, and Illinois participates through the Illinois Department of Transportation supported by federal highway safety funds.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studies traffic deaths as related to seat belt use, and found that in 2015, 57 percent of people killed in car accidents were not restrained. Its latest study finds that Illinois beat the national average for seat belt use; Illinois has 93 percent seat belt use as opposed to the national average of 88.5 percent.

Though, 93 percent is seven percent too low.

Though the police issued 26 tickets, that wasn't really the purpose of the campaign. "Issuing tickets was not our goal, but it was a way to remind people of the importance of such a simple action,” Zook said.

"Thousands of lives could be saved each year if every vehicle occupant was properly restrained when traveling on the road," the press release said.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, visit the Buckle Up Illinois website.

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