Motorists Warned to 'Click It' or Receive a Ticket

Motorists driving through Wall later this month are warned to buckle up, as police will be cracking down on seatbelt use among drivers and passengers.

Wall is participating in the national "Click it or Ticket" campaign from May 23 to June 5. The annual initiative will prompt seatbelt checkpoints locally as well as an emphasis on seatbelt usage by patrol officers. 

Although declining to buckle up can result in a fine, the initiative is meant to be educational and not necessarily punitive.

“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 a release. "Motor vehicle occupants who buckle up increase their chances of surviving a crash by as much as 75 percent.” 

"Click it or Ticket" will focus on passengers as well as drivers. Currently, only 27 percent of adult back seat passengers buckle up, Poedubicky said, despite a new state law requiring them to do so that was passed last year.

“New Jersey has a strong front seat belt usage rate, but there is still work to do,” he said.  “To meet our goal, we must continue both enforcement and public outreach efforts that educate all motor vehicle occupants about the importance of buckling up, every ride.”

Last year, the front seat belt usage rate in New Jersey rose for the 14th consecutive year to 93.73 percent. Poedubicky said law enforcement and safety officials want to ultimately see a 100 percent compliance rate.

During the 2010 “Click it or Ticket” campaign, 406 police agencies participated in the two-week initiative.  As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued 35,671 seat belt citations, 5,832 speeding summonses and made 592 drunken driving arrests.