Click It or Ticket Returns

In an effort to increase seat belt use and enhance traffic safety, the spring "Click It or Ticket'' effort has been launched.

The public information campaign, a program of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security  and the Massachusetts State Police, runs through June 5.

State Police and more than 180 local police departments have issued zero-tolerance enforcement policies and will be ticketing unbelted vehicle occupants on roadways in Massachusetts. State Police alone will roll hundreds of additional patrols, in  addition to regular around-the-clock patrols out of each barracks, during the mobilization.

“Seatbelts are your best defense in a crash, yet more than 25 percent of drivers still fail to buckle up,” said Colonel Marian McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. “Tickets will be issued to those who are pulled over and are not wearing their seat belt or if any passenger in the car is unbelted.  Everyone in a vehicle needs to buckle up.”

In Massachusetts, driving or riding without a properly secured seat belt is punishable by a fine for the driver and for each passenger not properly restrained.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, based on known use, 52 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 in Massachusetts were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of a fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent. This number increases to 60 percent for those in  pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans.

For more information, go towww.mass.gov/highwaysafety.