KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This Memorial Day weekend, and every day, law enforcement is urging drivers to buckle up during the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) national Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort. The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 22 to June 4, 2023.
“We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said NHTSA Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy. “It’s not just a safe thing to do — it’s the law. During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working with our fellow law enforcement officers across local and state lines to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash.”
According to NHTSA, in 2021, there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger-vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 57 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why a major focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law education and enforcement, writing citations day and night.
NHTSA data shows that seat belt use is higher among females than males. In fact, more than twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females in 2020. Of the males killed in crashes during that same year, more than half (55 percent) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 43 percent were not buckled up.
“No matter the type of vehicle you’re driving in or the type of road you’re driving on, the best way to stay safe in case of a vehicle crash is to wear your seat belt,” DeCourcy continued. “Unfortunately, many families are suffering because their loved ones refused to follow this simple step. In Region 7 alone, which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, in 2021, we lost 927 community members because they did not buckle their seat belts. If you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they’re in a vehicle, please ask them to form this life-saving habit. Help us spread this important message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of not buckling up.”
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.