The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department is preparing for another “Click It or Ticket” campaign to make sure drivers are using their safety belts.
As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office is reminding drivers about the importance of seat belt use. This annual campaign is part of the national “Click It or Ticket” high-visibility enforcement period, which runs from May 16 to June 5, 2022. The national seat belt campaign runs concurrent with the start of the busy summer travel season with the goal of reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries.
“During the ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign, we’ll be working with our fellow law enforcement officers across the state to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers to buckle up,” said Sheriff L. Paul Bailey. “We cannot overstate the importance of wearing a seat belt. It’s the law, but more than that buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash.
“We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt.”
In 2020, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 228 people killed in Michigan traffic crashes were not wearing a seat belt. In Michigan, the seat belt usage rate in 2021 was 92.6 percent, down from 94.4 percent in 2019. The national seat belt usage rate in 2021 was 90.4 percent. Men make up the majority of those killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2019, 65 percent of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed were men. Men also wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do — 51 percent of men killed in crashes were unrestrained, compared to 40 percent of women killed in crashes.
In addition, young adults are at a higher risk of being killed because of riding unrestrained. In 2019, more than half (57 percent) of young adults 18 to 34 years old killed while riding in passenger vehicles were not buckled up.
For more information on the “Click It or Ticket” mobilization, please visit NHTSA.gov/ciot.
