Police focusing on seat belt use during holiday weekend
Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/53428/
Area police will be cracking down on seat belt enforcement through Memorial Day weekend as part of the national “ Click it or Ticket” campaign.
“ Law enforcement efforts will occur around the clock day and night across the state, ” said Anne Whitehead, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Division. “ We’ll have officers working overtime to enforce extra patrol. ”
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the odds of being killed in a motor vehicle crash are three times higher at night, when seat belt use declines substantially.
“ This year, for the first time, they’re allowing us to do seat belt enforcement at night, ” said Washington County Deputy Jak Kimball. “ Obviously, we can’t see whether a person is wearing their seat belt at night, but if we pull them over and they’re not wearing a seat belt, they will get ticketed. ”
The Click it or Ticket campaign was developed in 2002 as part of a nationwide initiative to increase seat belt law compliance. The program was created to address the growing number of injuries and deaths caused by car accidents.
A study conducted by the highway safety administration revealed that 31, 693 passenger vehicle occupants died in traffic accidents in 2004 — 55 percent of whom were not wearing their seat belts. During that same year in Arkansas, 565 people died in car accidents — 68 percent of whom were not wearing their seat belts.
Since Click It or Ticket began, the number of Arkansans who use their safety belts has increased by about 25 percent.
“ The object of the campaign isn’t to give tickets, ” Whitehead said. “ It’s to get people to buckle up. ”
Statistics released by highway safety administration reveal that people who wear their safety belts increase their odds of surviving a serious crash by 45 percent and increase their odds of avoiding serious injury by 50 percent.
This year, more than 150 agencies across the state are participating in the Click It or Ticket campaign. The program started Monday and runs through June 3.
“ We usually do Click it or Ticket during the same time as the national campaign, ” Whitehead said. “ We have increased periods of saturated enforcement, especially during times of high travel, like Memorial weekend. ”
Whitehead said the Click It or Ticket campaign has become the most successful seat belt enforcement campaign in history, helping national usage rates reach 82 percent.
“ Since seat belts are not a primary law in Arkansas, we can’t pull you over for it, ” Kimball said. “ We have to find something else. If you’re speeding, we’ll pull you over. If you’re not wearing a seat belt, you get a ticket. ”
A primary seat belt law allows police to issue a seat belt citation whenever they observe an unbelted front seat occupant. A secondary law allows police to only issue a seat belt citation if the vehicle has been stopped for another violation.
“ I believe 29 or 30 states already have primary seat belt laws, ”Whitehead said. “ Most of the states around Arkansas have them. ”
Earlier this month, members of the state House turned down a bill that would make violation of the Arkansas seat belt law a primary offense.
According to the highway safety administration, passing a primary law can increase seat belt use rates among non-users by 40 percent. Only 68 percent of motorists in Arkansas currently comply with state seat belt laws, according to past campaigns.
“ We do have a primary law that allows officers to pull you over if your child isn’t buckled up, ” Whitehead said. “ The fine for that can be up to $ 100. ”
Since its inception, Whitehead said, Click It or Ticket has attracted a growing number of sponsors, including fast food chains, high schools and corporations.
“ We start our paid advertising a week before the campaign, ” she said. “ This year, Wal-Mart is running radio ads in all their stores nationwide. In Arkansas, a lot of the fast food restaurants like Popeye’s and Wendy’s are using tray liners to advertise it. Eureka Pizza in Fayetteville is putting stickers on takeout orders and window cling signs in their place of business. All the high schools in the state are doing public announcements to tell students about it. ”