(Cushing, Okla.) – Cushing police will join local and national law enforcement officers and highway safety advocates all across the country for the 2011 national Click- It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization, May 23-June 5.
During the mobilization, officers will be cracking down on motorists who fail to wear their seat belts – both day and night.
Because nighttime passenger vehicle occupants are among those least likely to buckle up and most likely to die in crashes when unrestrained, nighttime enforcement has become a priority of the Click-It or Ticket mobilization. Of those who died in nighttime crashes in 2009, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) were not wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.
In 2009, 11,593 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes nationwide between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Many more nighttime traffic deaths can be prevented if more motorists simply start wearing their seat belts,” said Chief Terry Brannon. “This is one of the very reasons we support Click-It or Ticket.”
High-visibility enforcement such as the Click-It or Ticket mobilization is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an observed usage rate of 85 percent in 2010. Belt use saves thousands of lives each year across America. In 2009 alone, seat belts saved 12,713 lives nationwide.
Remember this May 23 to June 5: It’s Click-It or Ticket. Buckle up and encourage your loved ones to do the same. You’ll save the cost of a ticket and may even save a life.
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