State Patrol Kicks Off Annual Click It or Ticket Campaign

Motorists who refuse to wear their seat belts – beware. The 2012 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization kicks off May 21 to help save lives by cracking down on those who don't buckle up. Ohio is again participating in the national mobilization to remind Ohioans to buckle up – day and night.

The Ohio Department of Public Safety's (ODPS) Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), who will lead this campaign, joined Indiana and Kentucky in this announcement because buckling up saves lives.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010 nationally, 61 percent of the 10,647 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes overnight (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash, compared to 42 percent during the daytime hours.

"Too many drivers and passengers on the road at night are not wearing their seat belts, and it all too often ends in tragedy," said ODPS Director Thomas P. Charles. "Our goal is to save more lives; therefore, our law enforcement partners will be out enforcing seat belt laws around the clock."

More than 900 law enforcement partners around Ohio, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, will be aggressively enforcing the law during the mobilization, which runs May 21 through June 3.

"It's simple – safety belts save lives and reduce injury in crashes," said Colonel John Born, superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. "It is the easiest thing you can do to protect yourself, your family and your friends."

In 2010, 22,187 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle crashes, according to NHTSA, and 51 percent of them were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes. In 2011, nearly 65 percent of the people killed on Ohio's roadways were not wearing a safety belt.

Law enforcement and other safety partners will be holding awareness events and educational activities to stress the importance of seat belt use around the state during the mobilization. OCJS is generating high-visibility awareness and is supporting NHTSA's national media with statewide placement of messages on television, radio and newspaper ads.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization and other programs run by the OCJS, log onto www.ocjs.ohio.gov.