Georgia law enforcement agencies are gearing up for a wave of high-visibility safety belt checkpoints and concentrated patrol activity from Monday, November 21st through Sunday, December 4th, 2005. Georgia’s Primary Safety Belt Law allows enforcement officers to write safety belt violation tickets by simply observing an unbelted driver or passenger.

The Georgia state Patrol (GSP) and Georgia DOT have released their predictions for traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities for the 2005 Thanksgiving Holiday Traffic Period. Law enforcement officers have reason for concern, because the outlook for Georgia highways is a deadly one: This year's predictions call for 13 people to die during the Thanksgiving Holiday.

As state and local law enforcement agencies prepare for the longest and deadliest travel period all year, the GSP-DOT joint traffic predictions are warning Georgians to expect 2,798 traffic crashes and 1,238 highway injuries this November holiday. "And this is one time when we really want the police to be wrong," says Director Bob Dallas of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

"Those high 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," says GOHS Director Dallas. "The GOHS safety belt enforcement campaign coordinates high-visibility road checks and concentrated patrols so that officers from Thomasville to Toccoa will write tickets to remind motorists to wear their safety belts."

The long 102-hour Thanksgiving Holiday Traffic Period begins on Wednesday, November 23rd at 6 p.m. and ends at midnight Sunday, November 27. GSP Colonel Bill Hitchens reminds motorists that failure to use safety belts was a major contributing factor to in two-thirds of the traffic deaths during last year's Thanksgiving holiday period. "Six of those killed were not wearing a safety belt," he said.

"Now through the end of the year is the period when we see a noticeable increase in the number of impaired drivers on our roads," said Col. Hitchens. "A buckled safety belt is your best protection against encountering an impaired driver on the road."

"It's not about writing more tickets, it's about saving more lives," said GOHS Director Dallas. "From Monday, November 21, through Sunday, December 4, if you don't click it, expect a ticket! For safety's sake, everyone should be buckled-up, every seat, every trip, every time."

Nine people died on Georgia highways during Thanksgiving 2004 and 1,233 were injured. Contact your local law enforcement agency for information about Click It or Ticket enforcement road checks, patrols and campaign activities in your community.

On November 18th, GOHS held the Click It or Ticket Thanksgiving News Conference at the Ford Hapeville Plant. Among those who attended and spoke were:

Bob Dallas, Director, Governor's Office of Highway Safety

Dale Wishnousky, Plant Manager, Ford Hapeville Plant

Bob Cucchi, Ford Motor Company, Governmental Affairs, Regional Director

Kevin Christopher, Ford Atlanta Assembly Plant Worker and safety belt crash surivivor

Belinda Jackson from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Josh Brown, Ford Atlanta Assembly Plant Worker in charge of installing safety belts

Bill Hitchens, Colonel, Georgia State Patrol

Below you will find some photos with comments from the latest Click It or Ticket Press Conference. Click on each photo for a larger picture.