Last Updated on May 18, 2015 1:10 pm
The Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) launched its Memorial Day “Click It or Ticket” education and enforcement campaign this morning. It runs through the Memorial Day holiday weekend, ending on May 31.
The kickoff event was held at the UNC-Greensboro campus, as GHSP Director Don Nail, Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes, and UNCG Chief of Police James Herring were the featured speakers. The event was held in Guilford County as incentive to increase seat belt usage in the area. The county-wide driver and passenger seat belt usage rate in the 2014 seat belt survey was 88.4 percent, two points below the statewide average.
That seat belt survey shows usage has been increasing statewide, with a 90.6 percent compliance by drivers and passengers, compared to 88.6 percent the previous year.
Since its inception 22 years ago, the “Click It or Ticket” program has increased driver seat belt awareness and usage rates and reduced fatalities across North Carolina. Nearly every law enforcement agency in the state participates in the initiative and it is one of the most intensive law enforcement efforts of its kind.
“As we launch the “Click It or Ticket” Memorial Day campaign today it is important that we remind those on North Carolina roads that it is the law to wear your seat belt,” said Nail. “The law applies to all passengers in the vehicle. It doesn’t matter where you sit, you must remember to buckle up, saving yourself from receiving a fine of up to $161 and even your life. We have to remind ourselves it is “Every Seat, Every Time.”
Law enforcement officers will be out day and night enforcing “Click It or Ticket” for drivers and passengers who fail to buckle up. The N.C. Department of Transportation, GHSP and law enforcement agencies across North Carolina have a goal of 100 percent seat belt use among all vehicle occupants. For additional information, please visit ClickItorTicket.org.
