Starting Monday, May 19th and running through Sunday, June 1st, Roselle Park Police Department (RPPD) will be cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign.
The annual initiative includes high visibility law enforcement seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, as well as local and national publicity designed to ensure that drivers and passengers recognize the life-saving value of seat belts.
“Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a driver and his or her passengers to protect themselves when traveling,” said Gary Poedubicky, acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “In 2010 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,546 lives nationwide.”
The front seat belt usage rate in New Jersey currently stands at 91%. Poedubicky noted that the goal for this year’s campaign is to increase the statewide rate to 92%.
“To meet our goal, we must continue both enforcement and public outreach efforts that educate all motor vehicle occupants about the importance of buckling up, every ride,” he said.
Mr. Poedubicky added that the campaign this year will focus on rear seat passengers as well. Despite laws requiring adult back seat passengers to buckle up, less than one-in-two adults do so, as reflected in the statistic that adult back seat belt use stands at only 44%.
During the 2013 ‘Click it or Ticket’ campaign, 422 police agencies participated in the two-week initiative. As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued:
- 26,049 seat belt citations
- 4,895 speeding summonses
- 860 drunk driving arrests
In Roselle Park, 2013 had 276 seat belt summonses issued. The $46 fine is secondary to the message of safety that comes in the form of a simple act that can mean the difference between walking away from an accident and being carried away from one.