Nationwide, more than half of all traffic crash victims killed last year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend were NOT wearing their safety belts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) keeps track of those fatality stats from across the country and that’s the reason they’re asking law enforcement everywhere to be out in force this Thanksgiving holiday to crack down on drivers and passengers who aren’t buckled-up.
“It’s just so clear that safety belts save lives,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). “But unfortunately too many folks still need a tough reminder. So, in Georgia, if you don’t click it, you should expect a ticket!”
The heavily-traveled Thanksgiving weekend is one of the most dangerous and deadliest times of the year due to low safety belt use. Last year in Georgia, there were 2,760 crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. Seventeen crash victims were killed and another 1,227 were injured. Failure to use safety belts is a major contributing factor in more than half of Georgia’s Thanksgiving holiday traffic deaths.
“High holiday fatality and injury predictions are the reason we’ve asked every law enforcement agency in Georgia to participate in the November Click It Or Ticket campaign,” said GOHS Director Dallas. “The GOHS safetybelt enforcement initiative coordinates high-visibility road checks and concentrated patrols so that officers from Blairsville to Buena Vista will write tickets to remind motorists to wear their safety belts. “Too many people, especially young male drivers, teens, pickup truck drivers and passengers, and folks of all ages riding in the back seats of vehicles still harbor the attitude that a deadly crash will never happen to them,” said Director Dallas. “But deadly crashes can and do happen every day. This is not about writing more tickets. It’s about saving more lives.”
Now through the end of the year is also the time when police see a noticeable increase in the number of drunk drivers on our highways. “A buckled safety belt is still your best protection against encountering an impaired driver on the road,” said Dallas. “Safety belts aren’t just for the long road-trips to grandma’s house. They’re lifesavers for the cross town shopping hop to the mall too. Safety belts should become a part of every family’s holiday tradition. For safety’s sake, everyone should be buckled-up, every seat, every trip, every time.”
In partnership with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety and the Atlanta based Road Safe America foundation, Governor Sonny Perdue has signed a proclamation declaring November 27, 2006, as “Drive Safer Sunday.” The Sunday after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest highway travel day of the year and the Governor’s proclamation encourages all Georgians to focus on driving more safely to avoid fatal car crashes this holiday travel season.
Contact your local law enforcement agency for information
about Click It Or Ticket enforcement road checks, patrols and campaign
activities in your community.
On Monday, November 20th, GOHS held a press conference kickoff for Click It or Ticket at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta. Among the many great speakers introduced by GOHS Deputy Director Rob Mikell were:
Deputy Chief Harold Dunovant, Field Operations Division, Atlanta Police Department
Frankie Jones, Director GTIPI, UGA Traffic Injury Prevention Institute
Sergeant Rex Morris, Walton County Sheriff's Office with his grandson, a crash survivor
Terry Schiavone, NHTSA Regional Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Southeast Office
Steve Owings, Co-Founder, Road Safe America
Guy Young, Georgia Motor Trucking Association
Major Chris Long, Georgia MCCD, Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division
Major Keith Sorrells, Georgia State Patrol
The Governor's Office of Highway Safety is proud to have the support of such a wide variety of safety leaders participate in Click It or Ticket from Georgia and around the region. Check back to this site often to learn more about this year's program.
2006 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY FACT SHEET
Buckle Up, America. Every
Trip. Every Time.
Tighten Your Belt Before and After Thanksgiving Dinner
Seat Belts Save Lives
• Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.
• Research has shown that when lap/shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury is reduced by 65 percent.
• Yet nearly one in five Americans (18 percent nationally) still fail to regularly wear their seat belts when driving or riding in a motor vehicle.
• Although seat belt use increased to a record 82 percent nationally in 2005 (up from 58 percent since 1994), too many Americans still choose not to regularly wear their seat belts.
Too Many Ignore the Facts
• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 31,415 passenger vehicle occupants died in traffic crashes during 2005 – and 55 percent of those killed were NOT wearing their seat belt at the time of the crash.
• Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during the night were unbelted - compared to 47 percent during the day.
• Also of great concern: belt use is much lower in the rear seat than the front. A detailed survey in 2005 showed that only 68 percent of rear seat passengers were belted, compared to 82 percent in the front seat.
• Men - especially younger men – are much less likely to buckle up. In 2005, 67 percent of male drivers and 74 percent of male passengers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes were NOT wearing their seat belts.
• According to NHTSA, pickup truck drivers and passengers consistently have the lowest seat belt usage rates of all motorists.
• In 2005, the observed seat belt use rate in pickup trucks was only 73 percent compared to 83 percent in passenger cars and 85 percent in vans and SUVs.
• This lack of seat belt use is deadly. In 2005, 68 percent of pickup truck drivers and 71 percent of pickup truck passengers who were killed in traffic crashes were not buckled up.
• Americans driving or riding on rural roadways also face a much greater risk of being injured or killed in traffic crashes than do those in urban or suburban areas.
• Seat belt use in the nation’s rural areas consistently trails the national average.
• Nationally, in 2005, only 79 percent of rural drivers and their passengers were observed wearing their seat belts compared to 81 percent for urban motorists and 83 percent among suburban motorists.
• Part of the danger to rural drivers comes from delayed recovery and emergency response along isolated roadways. But much of the danger is also due to excessive speed, increased alcohol use, vehicle rollovers and higher occupant ejection rates.
Children Must Be Properly Restrained, Too.
Parents are getting the message: 98 percent of all American infants under 1 year old are now restrained.
Unfortunately, 7 out of 10 child safety restraints are improperly used.
Older children need to be appropriately restrained, for their size and age.
One study showed that children who are moved from child safety seats to regular vehicle seat belts too early are four times more likely to sustain a serious head injury in a crash than those restrained in child safety seats or booster seats. The easiest way to remember is, “if they are under 4’ 9”, they need to be in a booster seat.”
For maximum child passenger safety, parents, grandparents and caregivers should always remember and follow The 4 Steps for Kids:
1. Use rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least 1 year of age and until they weigh at least 20 pounds;
2. Use forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat from age 1 and at least 20 pounds to about age 4 and 40 pounds;
3. Use booster seats in the back seat from about age 4 to at least age 8, unless the child is 4‘9” tall.
4. Use seat belts when they fit appropriately, usually at age 8 and older or taller than 4‘ 9”. ALL children up to age 13 should ride in the rear seat.
Buckle Up, America. Every Trip. Every Time.
Many part-time seat belt users say they forget or just fail to wear their seat belts on shorter trips or when traveling close to home.
Yet, deadly traffic crashes can and do happen anywhere at any time – in your neighborhood, on your way to work, when driving your kids to school, or when running errands close to home.
Thanksgiving is a special time of year when families come together to give thanks and remind all family members to buckle up—every trip, every time.
For more information, please see www.BuckleUpAmerica.org, or visit GOHS on the web at www.gahighwaysafety.org
Jim Shuler, Director Public Affairs, Governor's Office of Highway Safety 404-657-9105
A PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA
DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY
WHEREAS: More than 43,000 people are killed each year in accidents on American highways and roads. Many of these fatal car crashes may be avoided by simply exercising patience, caution, and awareness on the roads; and
WHEREAS: Drivers should prepare themselves for the unpredictable behaviors of other drivers, disabled vehicles, spilled cargo, adverse weather conditions and many other potential dangers that they may encounter on roadways. Remaining focused allows motorists to react quickly and correctly in any situation; and
WHEREAS: It is always important for drivers to foucs on driving, eliminate distractions, maintain safe speeds and drive defensively to avoid preventable accidents; and
WHEREAS: Many individuals and organizations in Georgia are working to increase awareness of the need for driver safety; and
WHEREAS: The Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday is traditionally the busiest highway travel day of the year; now
THEREFORE: I, SONNY PERDUE, Governor of the State of Georgia, do hereby proclaim the day of November 26, 2006, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY in Georgia and encourage Georgians to foucs on driving more safely.
In witness thereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the Executive Department to be affixed this 14th day of November in the year of our Lord two thousand six.
Sonny Perdue, Governor
ATTEST
John Watson, Chief of Staff
ROAD SAFE AMERICA BRINGS THE 2nd ANNUAL DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY EVENT TO UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA AND GEORGIA TECH CAMPUSES
Join Road Safe America at Georgia Tech’s WreckFest on Nov. 18 before the Georgia Tech vs. Duke football game and at the Sigma Chi house before the University of Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game in Athens.
ATLANTA – Road Safe America will bring its 2nd Annual Drive Safer Sunday message “Buckle-Up • Slow Down • Stay Alert” to college campuses this month. Drive Safer Sunday is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Road Safe America promotes Drive Safer Sunday as a reminder to drivers returning from the holiday break to take extra precautions on the busiest travel day of the year – the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Road Safe America volunteers will participate in WreckFest on November 18 preceding the Georgia Tech vs. Duke game. WreckFest is a pre-game street festival featuring activities and fun for the whole family, beginning 2-1/2 hours before kickoff on top of the south end of Peter's Parking Deck (access via Fowler Street).
On November 25, Road Safe America will partner with the Sigma Chi Fraternity in Athens, Georgia where they will distribute Drive Safer Sunday information and giveaways to fans from the front yard of the Sigma Chi house located at 590 S. Lumpkin.
Road Safe America was co-founded by Steve and Susan Owings after they lost their 22-year-old son, Cullum, in a high-speed truck crash on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. In 2002, Cullum and his brother Pierce were returning to Washington and Lee University after a visit home for the holidays. A few miles from campus, the boys were struck from behind by a tractor-trailer speeding on cruise control — on the busiest traffic day of the year. Pierce survived; Cullum died before rescuers could free him from the wreckage.
In addition to working with trucking industry executives and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to require speed governors set at 68 miles per hour for tractor-trailers, Road Safe America works to promote safe driving habits for passenger and truck drivers.
About Road Safe America
Atlanta-based Road Safe America is working to make our
highways safer by reducing the number of collisions between large trucks
and passenger vehicles. Many trucks travel at dangerously high speeds,
making it impossible for them to stop safely in an emergency. Road Safe
America is working toward a national rule that requires operational speed
governors in trucks, limiting them to 68 miles an hour, with serious consequences
for violators. Passenger vehicles are responsible for many tractor-trailer
accidents, as well. Therefore, Road Safe America also works to educate
the driving public on how to safely share the road with large trucks.
For more information, please visit www.roadsafeamerica.org.
For more photos from the event, click here
MORE NEWS TO BE POSTED HERE AT GOHS SHORTLY ON CLICK IT
OR TICKET.....
