Dunellen Police Department is cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign.
The campaign, which began on May 23 and will continue until June 5, includes high visibility law enforcement seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, as well as local and national publicity efforts designed to increase awareness of 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 2013, 21,000 people in the US were killed in traffic crashes, and almost half of them were unrestrained.”
According to Poedubicky, a key focus will be on the use of seat belts by rear seat passengers. New Jersey’s front seat belt usage rate currently stands at 91.36%, but only 39% of adult backseat users are buckling up.
During the 2015 “Click it or Ticket” campaign, 372 New Jersey police agencies participated in the two-week initiative. As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued 26,308 seat belt citations, 4,969 speeding citations and made 833 impaired driving arrests.