Law Enforcement Gathers Locally to Begin Click it or Ticket

Law enforcement representatives from the Four-States area joined together today in Texarkana to help kick off the Click It, or Ticket program for 2018.“In 2016, more than 32 million people failed to buckle up while in their vehicles – that’s nearly 10 percent of driver and passenger,” said Irene Webster, Traffic Safety Specialist for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). “Decades ago, we learned the life-saving importance of the seat belt and since that time, states across the nation have required people to buckle up when operating a vehicle, and for a good reason.  Just between 2012 to 2016, seat belts saving nearly 67,000 lives.”From May 21 to June 3, law enforcement agencies and state police across the nation are joining the National Highway Traffics Safety Administration (NHSTA) for the 2018 Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization.   Law enforcement officers are working to spread the message that seat belts save lives.

May is a critical period for law enforcement agencies to target unbuckled drivers. With the Memorial Day holiday weekend marking the official start to summer, there will be thousands of families traveling the roads to their vacation destination. It has been determined that this is the most effective time to remind drivers why seat belts laws matter—they help save lives, Webster said.

“This is not a campaign to write tickets or train law enforcement.  This is a campaign to help keep people safe and alive.  We ask drivers across the country to please make buckling up an automatic habit.  Whether you ride in the back seat or the front, day or night, and no matter which car seat or booster seat your child may use, everyone’s seat belt should be buckled every trip,” Webster said.