'Click It Or Ticket' Campaign Kicks Off In Berkeley

BERKELEY, NJ — Buckle up - the annual "Click It Or Ticket" campaign has kicked off again, and Berkeley is one of the 134 New Jersey communities that's participating.

The campaign runs through June 4. Berkeley received $7,000 from the Division of Highway and Traffic Safety (HTS) to fund the campaign, said Attorney General Matthew Platkin. The money pays for increased road patrols, seat belt checkpoints, and other enforcement initiatives during the campaign.

During last year's "Click It or Ticket" campaign, participating law enforcement agencies issued 8,373 seatbelt violations across the state, said officials. Also during last year's enforcement campaign, officers wrote 3,315 summonses for speeding and made 278 arrests for impaired driving.

"Law enforcement agencies take a 'no-excuses' approach to seat belt enforcement," the AG's office said. The maximum penalty for a seat belt violation in New Jersey is a $46 fine, added AG Platkin's office.

The most recent data from the Division of Highway and Traffic Safety shows that 47 percent of all people killed in motor vehicle crashes were not wearing a seat belt. In 2021, 160 unrestrained people died in New Jersey roadway crashes.

And over the past five years, close to one quarter of all unrestrained occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes were between the ages of 25 and 34, said state officials.

"Too many New Jerseyans needlessly lose their lives due to motor vehicle-related fatalities, and reducing these preventable deaths is a top priority for my office," said Platkin. "Our campaign will help raise awareness of this critical and proven way of preventing serious injury or death in the event of a motor vehicle crash. Seat belts save lives – it's that simple."

This article contains additional reporting by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson.