Galloway Police To Participate In Click It Or Ticket

GALLOWAY, N.J. — From May 20 through June 2, Galloway police will participate in the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign, where extra police officers will be looking for drivers not wearing seat belts, talking on the phone while driving and other driving violations.

Galloway PD received a $5,500 grant for extra policing. The Atlantic City, Egg Harbor Township, Hamilton and Mullica police departments received the same grant in Atlantic County. Read more: Another Big Cop Crackdown On Roads In These 111 NJ Towns

"Using a seat belt is the simplest way for motor vehicle occupants to protect themselves on the road," said Eric Heitmann, Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "Crash statistics show that between 2013 and 2017, seat belt use saved nearly 69,000 lives nationally."

In New Jersey, a key focus of this year's Click It or Ticket campaign is to promote seat belt usage by adults in all seating positions in the vehicle, both front AND rear seats. The front seat belt usage rate in New Jersey currently stands at 94.47%. However, adults riding in rear seats are buckling up at a significantly lower rate, only 48% according to a recent survey.

"For whatever reason, there seems to be a disconnect with people feeling they don't need to buckle up when riding as passengers in rear seats and this is a concern," Heitmann said. "By promoting back seat usage of seat belts during our Click It or Ticket campaign, we're encouraging passenger habits that will save lives."

During the 2018 "Click it or Ticket" campaign, 357 New Jersey police agencies participated in the two-week initiative. As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued 19,659 seat belt citations, 4,437 speeding summonses and made 661 impaired driving arrests.

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