America's Seat Belt Campaign: Click It or Ticket (CIOT) is the most successful seat belt enforcement campaign ever, helping create the highest national seat belt usage rate of 82 percent. Coast to coast, day or night, the message is simple - Click It or Ticket.
Fatal Crash Rate Increases Significantly at Night
- 15,046 fatalities — According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 15,046 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes between the hours of 6 p.m.
and 5:59 a.m. in 2006.
- Dying unbuckled — Nearly two-thirds (64%) of those killed during these nighttime hours were NOT wearing seat belts — compared to less than half
Those Who Do NOT Buckle Up Face Increased Risk
- Young adults and teens — Young people 16 to 24 years old had the lowest observed seat belt
usage rate of any other age group in 2006. And 64 percent of teenage passenger vehicle occupants
killed in fatal crashes during 2006 were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of the crashes.
- Men, especially young men — Men are less likely than women to buckle up. This is especially
true of young men. In fact, 67 percent of male drivers and 73 percent of male passengers between
the ages of 18 and 34 in passenger vehicles who were killed in crashes in 2006 were NOT wearing
their seat belts.
- Pickup drivers and passengers — Pickup truck drivers and passengers, particularly young
males, consistently have the lowest seat belt usage rates of all motorists. In 2007, the observed seat
belt use rate was only 72 percent in pickup trucks, compared to 84 percent in passenger cars,
SUVs, and minivans. In 2006, 68 percent of pickup truck drivers and 72 percent of pickup truck
passengers who were killed in traffic crashes were NOT buckled up.
- An alarming trend — Observed seat belt usage rates among African Americans are trending
downward. In 2004, observed usage rates among Blacks and Whites were equal at 80 percent each;
in 2006, the observed usage rate for Whites was 81 percent, compared to 75 percent for Blacks.
- Approximately one in five nationally — 18 percent of all drivers and passengers do not wear
seat belts regularly.
The Lifesaving Benefits of Wearing Seat Belts
- Effective crash protection — Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect
people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.
- Significantly reduced risk — When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of
fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent — and by 60 percent in pickup
trucks, SUVs, and minivans.
- Staying inside the vehicle — 75 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were totally ejected
from their vehicle in 2006 were killed. But only one in 100 drivers and passengers in fatal crashes
who were wearing their seat belts were totally ejected.
- Surviving rollovers — Motorists can increase the odds of survival in a rollover crash in a light
truck by nearly 80 percent by wearing their seat belts.
- Coming through a crash alive — Nationally in 2006, 77 percent of the passenger vehicle
occupants involved in a fatal crash, who were buckled up, survived the crash.
No More Excuses — Click It or Ticket
- High-visibility enforcement — Stepped-up law enforcement activities, including seat belt
checkpoints, will be conducted during the national 2008 Click It or Ticket mobilization, which runs
May 19 – June 1.
- A joint effort — The Fort Smith Police Department is joining with hundreds of other State and local law
enforcement and highway safety officials across the Nation during the 2008 national Click It or
Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization to enforce seat belt laws and reduce highway fatalities.
The 2008 mobilization will feature a renewed emphasis on day and night enforcement, as well as a
comprehensive effort to enforce seat belt laws among all motorists.
- Always remember — Click It or Ticket both day and night, unless you want to risk a ticket, or
worse — your life.
For more information on the lifesaving benefits of buckling up, please visit http://www.nhtsa.gov
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