Thanksgiving Seat Belt Use to Improve Day and Night- Thanks to Area Law Enforcement

Click It or Ticket Increases Belting Up in the Mid-Atlantic Area, Particularly at Night

BALTIMORE, Nov. 22, 2010 – Millions of Americans are hitting the roads this season, and law enforcement agencies across the Mid-Atlantic states are out in force sending a strong message to Click It or Ticket.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Region 3 office, which covers Washington, DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, a special police mobilization will be focusing on seat belt usage among drivers and passengers, especially at night, throughout the Thanksgiving holiday.

"The holidays are happy times, but unfortunately, they can also be deadly," said Dr. Elizabeth Baker, Administrator for NHTSA Region 3 office. During the 2008 Thanksgiving travel season, NHTSA statistics show that 231 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes after 6 p.m. nationwide. More than two-thirds were unrestrained.

NHTSA statistics also show that among those least likely to buckle up are nighttime riders, and the current mobilization will focus on both these drivers and passengers. "Wearing a seat belt costs you nothing, but not wearing it could you cost you a ticket or worse…your life," said Dr. Baker. "We want all drivers and their passengers to buckle up, day and night, every trip, and every time."

While seat belt use is at a record high of 85% nationwide, 45 million Americans still fail to buckle up when they get in a motor vehicle, NHTSA statistics show. On any given day about 38 passenger vehicle occupants who are not buckled up are killed in motor vehicle crashes. In 2008 alone, nearly 13,000 unbuckled people lost their lives on U.S. roadways. It is estimated that nearly one third of these lives could have been saved if they had been properly belted.

Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, according to NHTSA. Research has shown that when lap and shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury by 50 percent.

For more information about the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign for highway safety during Thanksgiving, please visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov.

SOURCE National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 3

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