SPARTA, NJ — Sparta police are among 113 New Jersey law enforcement agencies conducting increased seat belt enforcement patrols through May 31 as part of the state's annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign. The department received $7,000 in state grant funding to support the effort.
The grant is part of $774,760 distributed statewide by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety for seat belt enforcement, child passenger restraint compliance and public awareness activities.
Officers will be looking for unbuckled drivers and passengers and checking that children are properly secured in appropriate car seats, booster seats or seat belts. Under New Jersey law, drivers are responsible for ensuring all passengers under 18 are properly restrained. Children under age 8 and shorter than 57 inches must be secured in the appropriate child passenger restraint system based on age, height and weight.
The campaign runs through May 31 and overlaps with Memorial Day weekend, historically one of the most dangerous travel periods of the year on New Jersey roads.
"Everyone should buckle up, no matter where they are seated," said Michael J. Rizol Jr., director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "One unbuckled passenger puts everyone in the vehicle at risk."
The numbers underscore the urgency: in 2024, 135 people killed in New Jersey crashes were not wearing seat belts, accounting for 43 percent of all vehicle occupant fatalities. One in four of those unrestrained fatalities involved people between the ages of 21 and 30.
New Jersey's front-seat seat belt use reached nearly 95 percent following last year's campaign — 4 percentage points above the national average — but officials say back-seat compliance remains a concern.
During the 2025 campaign, participating agencies statewide issued 5,352 seat belt summonses, 2,624 speeding summonses and 706 cell phone violations.
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