Law Enforcement to Crack Down on Young Drivers & Occupants Not Buckled Up At Night

Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that despite a decade of gains in daytime seat belt use, nighttime belt use continues to be much lower, particularly among young drivers.

Launched recently by NHTSA Administrator Nicole R. Nason, the annual Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign will focus on nighttime belt use when the odds of being killed in a motor vehicle crash are three times higher.

"Seat belt use among young drivers and occupants is not what it should be, especially at night when the risk of dying in a crash triples," said Administrator Nason. "Clearly, we need to do more to make people of all ages understand that—whether traveling by car, SUV or truck—a seat belt is the best way to stay alive, day or night."

According to NHTSA research, nighttime seat belt use is often much lower than the nationwide average of 82 percent daytime belt use. Among young passenger vehicle occupants, the consequences of not buckling up are even more tragic. Of the 2,926 16- to 20-year-old passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2006, 68 percent were not wearing seat belts. During daylight hours, 57 percent of the 16- to 20-year-old occupants killed were not wearing seat belts.

Vernon Betkey, Vice Chairman, Governors Highway Safety Association and James W. McMahon, Chief of Staff, International Association of Chiefs of Police joined administrator Nason at the national launch at Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. Law enforcement will issue tickets to seat belt law violators across the country. The campaign is supported by a $7.5 million national and state advertising campaign. Commercials and print ads produced by NHTSA in English and Spanish will run across a wide range of highly targeted media, including print, radio, and television.

"Wearing your seat belt costs you nothing," Nason said. "But the cost for not wearing one certainly will. So, don't risk it with a ticket or worse, your life. Please remember to buckle up day and night."

View here the NHTSA research note and study report.

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View Full Post posted by The National Safety Commission : 5:29 PM