One simple movement can save lives. In an effort to get more people to make that move, law officers across the state are encouraging people to buckle up in this year’s Click It or Ticket campaign.
Officers use education and enforcement to get people to use seat belts and child restraints, Auburn police Lt. Will Mathews said. Today, they’ll be handing out literature.
“The goal of the campaign is to increase seat belt usage,” Mathews said. “The statistics show you’re much more likely to survive a significant collision if you’re wearing a seat belt.”
Nighttime drivers and young drivers are especially unlikely to buckle up, according to a statement released by the Central Alabama Highway Safety Office. In 2006, 64 percent of those killed at night were not wearing seat belts, and 64 percent of teenagers killed nationwide in crashes were not wearing seat belts.
Near Memorial Day weekend, police see more traffic accidents involving alcohol, so law enforcement steps up the emphasis on seat belts, too, Mathews said.
“The biggest thing is it keeps you in the area of the car that the manufacturer of the car designed to be the safest zone,” he said. “… They design the car around that seat, and the seat belt keeps you in that seat.”
As for those who say a seat belt would have kept them in a part of the car that was crushed, Mathews has seen his share of wrecks, and those cases are few and far between, he said.
“There are so many lives saved by seat belts, you can’t really compare them to those few cases…” he said.
Opelika police Capt. Allan Elkins said his department was one of the top-performing departments in the state during the annual campaign.
“It’s not only tickets, but just making contacts and educational stops we do,” Elkins said. “Sometimes it’s just reminding people.”
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