Warning! Click It Or Ticket -- Seat Belts For All Vehicle Occupants

As motorists take to the roadways this Memorial Day holiday, police are urging everyone to buckle up.  Beginning May 9, hundreds of Illinois law enforcement agencies will join the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois State Police and traffic safety advocates in the 2014 National Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign, cracking down on motorists who are not belted in the front or back seat.

As of January 1, 2012, all Illinois drivers and passengers must wear seat belts in all seating positions in the car, not just the front seat.  During statewide observational surveys conducted by IDOT in 2013, the overall usage rate for rear seat occupants was 77.4 percent versus 93.7 percent for drivers and front seat passengers.  In 2012, back seat passengers in Illinois accounted for 46 fatalities and over 5,000 injuries.  Out of those 46 fatalities, 30 of them were not wearing their seat belt. 

“Seat belts are the single most important safety device in your vehicle.  They have saved countless lives and prevented countless numbers of injuries over the years,” said Patrick J. McNulty, Public Health Administrator for the McHenry County Department of Health. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), research has shown that when lap and shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent. 

“Seat belts clearly save lives.  But, unfortunately, too many people still need to be reminded.  I urge everyone driving on our roadways this summer to drive carefully, do not drive impaired and, most importantly, buckle up, every trip, every time, day or night, front or back,” said McNulty.

The Illinois Click It or Ticket campaign runs from May 9 to May 26.  Buckle up and encourage your loved ones to do the same.  Wearing your seat belt is your best defense against an impaired driver.  

For more information about the Click It or Ticket campaign, please visit www.buckleupillinois.org.