It’s CLICK IT OR TICKET time in Georgia! And if you’re one of those death-defying motorists who won’t wear a safetybelt, Georgia traffic enforcement officers are again launching their statewide strategy to save you from yourself. All across Georgia hundreds of police agencies will run roadchecks day and night this Memorial Day travel period to track down drivers and passengers who don’t bother to buckle-up when the sun goes down.
DAY OR NIGHT, IF YOU DON’T CLICK IT, EXPECT A TICKET
When national safety experts studied nationwide fatality stats hoping to save more lives, they made this deadly discovery: The proportion of unbuckled crash deaths runs considerably higher at night because many night-drivers have apparently fooled themselves into believing they’re ‘crash-proof’’. NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has released startling findings that 63-percent of those passenger vehicle occupants killed during nighttime-hour crashes were NOT wearing their safetybelts.
UNBUCKLED DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS TARGETED IN GEORGIA
The alarming nationwide nighttime highway death toll in 2007 claimed the lives of 14,464 Americans. So police are offering a crash-course in road-reality this Memorial Day. They know 859 Georgians died here in 2007 because they didn’t click-it. That’s why we ticket. More than half the Georgians killed in car crashes in 2007 weren’t wearing safetybelts. What are yourodds?Nationwide 37, 313 people were killed in traffic crashes last year.
CRACKDOWN COMING
“Every time Georgia law enforcement officers write safetybelt citations during the upcoming Click It Or Ticket campaign, they’ll be thinking about the horrendous highway deaths here in May 2007 that might have had happier endings,” says Director Bob Dallas of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). “It’s tragic to report, but 9-of-the-11 Georgia crash fatalities from the 2007 Memorial Day holiday involved victims who weren’t wearing seatbelts.”
IT’S ABOUT RAISING SURVIVAL RATES, NOT REVENUE!
In 2007 alone, seatbelts saved more than 15-thousand American lives! And yet, nearly one-in-five Americans still fail to wear their safetybelts whether driving or riding. The result: In 2007 an additional 5,024 lives could have been saved nationwide if seatbelts were worn at the time of the crash. “Our focus groups reveal that for young male drivers, the worry of getting a traffic ticket is sometimes the only motivation to fasten their safetybelt,” says GOHS Director Dallas.
SEATBELTS, MAKE MANY CAR CRASHES SURVIVABLE
NHTSA research data shows the good news is, more than 70-percent of passenger vehicle occupants involved in serious crashes nationwide survive when wearing safetybelts correctly. Seatbelts have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45-percent. In pick-up trucks, SUVs’, and mini-vans, properly worn seatbelts reduce fatal injury by an amazing 60-percent!
BUCKLE –UP! EVERY TRIP, EVERY SEAT, EVERY TIME!
But too many Georgians still need a tough reminder. State Law authorizes enforcement officers to write safetybelt tickets by simply observing unbelted drivers or passengers. So State Troopers, GSP NightHawk Patrols, and H.E.A.T. Units will roll-out high visibility enforcement measures during the Memorial Day holidays. "Wearing your seatbelt costs you nothing, but the cost for not wearing it can be catastrophic,” says GOHS Director Dallas. "So, don't risk a ticket or worse, a life. Remember to buckle-up.. day and night.”
SUMMER H.E.A.T. BACK IN THE HOLIDAY FORECAST
Georgia ’s 100 Days of SummerH.E.A.T. speed and DUI enforcement campaign also begins May 18th. H.E.A.T. stands for Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic. It’s amulti-jurisdictional traffic safety enforcement campaign safeguarding motorists during the heavy summer travel period from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays. H.E.A.T.-Teams will also focus on late-night safetybelt violators. For more information on our lifesaving highway safety initiatives, visit www.gahighwaysafety,org Day or Night.
The Georgia Click It Or Ticket enforcement campaign runs Monday, May 18 th through Sunday, May 31st, 2009.
View the video from the May 18th Click It or Ticket Press Conference here! (Apple Movie Format)
