Carteret, NJ – Law enforcement officers from the Carteret Police Department are joining with police from around the country in cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the nationwide “Click it or Ticket” campaign.
Beginning Monday, May 20 and running through June 2, the annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign uses high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, in combination with local and national publicity efforts, to reiterate the life-saving value of seat belts.
“Using a seat belt is the simplest way for motor vehicle occupants to protect themselves on the road,” said Eric Heitmann, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “Crash statistics show that between 2013 and 2017, seat belt use saved nearly 69,000 lives nationally.”
New Jersey drivers currently buckle-up at a rate of 94.47%. However, adults riding in back seats are buckling up at only 48% according to a recent survey.
“For whatever reason, there seems to be a disconnect with people feeling they don’t need to buckle up when riding as passengers in rear seats, and this is a concern,” Heitmann said. “By promoting back seat usage of seat belts during our campaign, we are encouraging passenger habits that will save lives.”
The 2018 Click It or Ticket campaign resulted in 19,659 seat belt citations, 4,437 speeding summonses and 661 impaired driving arrests.
