Click-It-Or-Ticket Campaign Kicks Off Summer

As the unofficial start of summer, the Memorial Day holiday weekend is a busy time for Americans. Each year, the highways fill with families in vehicles on their way to start their summer vacations. To help keep drivers and passengers stay safe, law enforcement agencies around the country, including Ramapo police and the Rockland County Sheriff's Office, are reminding motorists about Click It or Ticket.

Aimed at enforcing seat belt use to help keep families safe, the national seat belt campaign will take place May 20 through June 2, concurrent with the busy travel season.

“Consistent research has shown that fewer people are buckling up at night, when the risk of a being in a fatal crash is greatest.” said Chief William Barbera of the Rockland County Sheriff's Office Police Division. “That’s why New York State police will be out in force at night as well as during the day to make sure that drivers and passengers take seat belts, and seat belt laws, seriously.”

Buckling up is such a simple task that can keep you and your family safe in the car. But it’s more than that. Buckling up is the law. Officers see the consequences of not buckling up. Often, it could have been prevented with the simple click of a seatbelt. This should be automatic.

If the enforcement crackdown wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider it a success, Ramapo police said.

Click It Or Ticket isn’t about citations; it’s about saving lives. In 2017, there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. That same year, it is estimated that seat belts saved the lives of 14,955 occupants aged 5 and older. From 2013-2017, it is estimated that seat belts saved nearly 69,000 lives. If all vehicle occupants aged 5 and older that were involved in fatal crashes had worn their seat belts, an additional 2,549 lives could have been saved in 2017 alone.

There are many myths concerning seat belts and their impact:

• Occupants of pickup trucks and other larger vehicles will be better protected than occupants of smaller vehicles: In fact, the percentage of occupants killed in larger vehicles that were not wearing seat belts was 17% higher than in smaller vehicles. Seat belts are the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash!
• Many people believe that they are safe riding in the back seat unrestrained: Of the occupants killed in crashes in 2017, 46% of front-seat passengers were unrestrained, but 56% of those killed in the back seats were unrestrained. You need to be buckled no matter where you are seated in the vehicle!

• Most of the crash fatalities occur in urban areas: In 2017, there were 12,786 vehicle fatalities in rural locations, compared to 10,316 fatalities in urban locations. Out of those fatalities, 49% of those killed in rural areas were unrestrained, compared to 44% in urban areas. You are more likely to lose your life in a crash in towns than in larger cities!

Ramapo PD will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing
citations day and night.

If you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask
them to consider changing their habits. Seat belts save lives, and everyone—front seat and back, child and adult—needs to remember to buckle up—every trip, every time.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization,click here.