To the editor
By:
Many people still don’t take one of the simplest and most effective steps to stay safe: Buckling up. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of the 31.904 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in crashes in 2003, 56 percent of them weren’t wearing safety belts.
Teenagers and young adults, and those driving pickup trucks, and living in rural areas are particularly at risk. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults in the United States from age 16 through 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and safety belt use by pickup truck occupants is about 70 percent, among the lowest for any demographic group. Safety belt use in rural areas was a little better at 76 percent in 2004, but still below the national average.
Sometimes the fear of getting a traffic ticket is the only reason that someone will wear a safety belt. That’s why state and local law enforcement officers across the country are joining the national "Click It or Ticket May 2005 Mobilization" that runs from May 23 through June 5. Officers will aggressively ticket unbelted drivers and passengers. High-visibility enforcement has proven effective in increasing safety belt use.
A similar mobilization held this past year in May 2004 helped increase the national belt use rate to an all time high of 80 per cent. The combination of active law enforcement, high-profile publicity, and the advocacy and promotion by public and private groups continues to be an extremely effective means for increasing safety belt use – and saving lives across the country.
Bottom line law enforcement officers would rather write someone a ticket than find that same person dead or critically injured because he or she wasn’t restrained in a crash.
Wear your safety belt every trip, every time and encourage teen-agers and young adults, pickup truck drivers, and those living in rural areas to do the same or risk getting a ticket especially May 23 – June 5.
Manville Police Department

