'Click It Or Ticket' Campaign Hits Solon High

SOLON, OH — The Solon High School chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and the Solon Police Department recently collaborated on "Click It or Ticket" awareness campaign. Officers from the department spent time at the high school promoting safe driving and encouraging students to share their thoughts on the emotional impact of traffic accidents.

Officers put up a banner in the school cafeteria that read, "118 reasons to buckle up." The banner was filled by 118 blank circles. Students were asked to fill-in the circles with how they thought their family would feel if they were the victims of a major injury due to not wearing a seatbelt. The department said that $118 is the approximate cost of a seatbelt ticket.

"What they were putting in those circles was really heartfelt," Tammy Strom, Solon School's communications representative told Patch. "They were trying to elicit the true cost in human terms."

Millions of people every day fail to buckle their seatbelt, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. In 2014, 21,022 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle traffic crashes and more than half of all those deceased were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of their crash.

An additional, 2.3 million people were taken to the emergency department for motor vehicle related injuries in 2014. Young adult drivers (18-24) have the highest crash-related non-fatal injury rates, so holding these awareness campaigns at high schools is particularly important.

The 118 circles were hung in the high school cafeteria for about two weeks and recently came down to make room for after prom decorations, Strom said. However, there are still yard signs leading the way into the school that remind parents and students to buckle up.

"We try to do this every year," Strom said. "It's important to raise awareness because you'll see a corresponding increase in students and adults using their seatbelts."

Photos from Solon Schools