NH police to mobilize for ‘Click It or Ticket’

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North Hudson Police and other area law enforcement agencies statewide are mounting “Click It or Ticket,” a safety belt enforcement mobilization May 19-June 3.

This year’s Click It or Ticket likely will be the largest coordinated law enforcement mobilization ever in Wisconsin, according to North Hudson Sgt. Mark Volz.

“During Click It or Ticket, our officers will be patrolling in greater numbers, including night-time hours when safety belt use declines,” said Volz.

“Our goal during the mobilization is not to write more tickets but to save lives and reduce injuries through voluntary compliance with Wisconsin’s mandatory safety belt law. However, if you are stopped by an officer and are not buckled up, you will get a ticket whether you’re driving or just a passenger. We won’t accept excuses, and you won’t get a warning or a second chance.”

Click It or Ticket combines intensified safety belt enforcement with a public awareness campaign, funded by the federal government.

Previous Click It or Ticket mobilizations have helped increase the safety belt use rate in Wisconsin to an all-time high of 75 percent. But Wisconsin still has a long way to go to achieve the 82 percent national average for safety belt use and to match neighboring states, such as Michigan with 93 percent, Illinois with 90 percent, Iowa with 89 percent and Minnesota with 87 percent.

Every 1 percent increase in safety belt use in Wisconsin saves six lives per year, according to Wisconsin State Patrol Bureau of Transportation Safety estimates.

“All too often at a crash scene, law enforcement officers see critically injured adults and children taken to a hospital or, even more tragically, dead bodies taken to the morgue because they were not buckled up. Consistent safety belt use is the single-most effective protection against being ejected from a vehicle or thrown around violently inside it during a crash. That’s why we’re so serious about safety belt enforcement,” said Volz.

“No matter what you drive or where you’re going, you are required by law to buckle up every time you get behind the wheel or ride in a vehicle. But if you ignore the law and common sense, we’ll be ready to provide you with a very convincing reminder.”

Tags: news, northhudson, police, seatbelt, law