NHP increases seat belt enforcement in nationwide 'Click it or Ticket' campaign
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 05/16/2019 - 10:15am
As an integral part of this year’s national Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign, Nevada Highway Patrol will be teaming up with law enforcement nationwide for a Border to Border kickoff event.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is asking all states to participate in B2B, a one-day national seat belt awareness event on May 20, 2019, which is coordinated by participating state highway safety offices and their respective law enforcement liaisons.
The B2B program aims to increase law enforcement participation by coordinating highly visible seat belt enforcement and providing seat belt fact sheets for drivers at heavily traveled highly visible state border checkpoints.
According to NHTSA, in 2017, there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign and the B2B kickoff event is nighttime enforcement. NHP will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt enforcement, writing citations day and night.
“If the enforcement crackdown wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success,” said Lt. Luis Ayala-Zapata of Nevada Highway Patrol. “If you know a friend or family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to change their habits. Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction.”
Every year, Nevada Highway Patrol investigates numerous fatal crashes or crashes that result in life-altering injuries due to seat belts being worn improperly or not at all. These tragic crashes and subsequent losses of life are what Nevada Highway Patrol is trying to prevent through enforcement and education. Seat belts save lives and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember to buckle up - every trip, every time.
The Nevada Department of Public Safety’s- Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) provides funding for law enforcement agencies to participate in Joining Forces to reduce traffic deaths and injuries on Nevada roadways.
