Initiative coinciding with Memorial Day travel period
Leaders of the Sarasota Police Department and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “are urging drivers to buckle up ahead of the Click It or Ticket seat belt safety campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, the Police Department has announced.
The campaign began on May 18 and will continue through May 31, a news release notes.
“Seat belt use should be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said Sgt. Anthony Frangioni, of the Sarasota Police Department Traffic Unit, in the release. “During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working with our area law enforcement officers across Florida to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers,” Frangioni continued: “Not buckling up could mean a ticket, or worse — risking a life.”
In 2023, 10,484 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants were killed in traffic crashes, according to the NHTSA, the release points out. “The national seat belt use rate in 2024 was 91.2%, which is good,” the release adds, “but it can be better. The other 8.8% still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives,” the release says. “Law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night,” the release stresses.
“One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign is nighttime enforcement,” the release continues. “NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained occupant fatalities happen at night (56% between the hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.). Of the men killed in crashes in 2023,” it notes, “more than half (53%) were unrestrained. For women killed in crashes, 41% were not buckled up.”
Buckle up the right way
The release provides details about the proper way to use seat belts:
- “Place the shoulder belt across the middle of the chest and away from the neck.
- “Lay the lap belt across the hips and not the stomach.
- “NEVER place the seat belt behind the back or under arms.”
“We are asking friends and family to remind each other to buckle up in the front and back seats and to consider changing their habits if they don’t,” said Sgt. Frangioni in the release. “Seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember to buckle up,” he stressed.