KDOT seat belt campaign kicks off next week

Next week, The Kansas Department of Transportation along with local and state law enforcement and highway safety officials will recognize this years “Click it. Or ticket” campaign starting Monday, May 19 through June 1.
The “Click it. Or ticket” campaign is an aggressive national effort to crack down on low seat belt use and to reduce highway fatalities.
According to KDOT, this year’s “Click it. Or ticket.” campaign “is placing a special emphasis on nighttime seat belt use and enforcement.”
Nationwide, more than 15,000 passenger vehicle occupants died in traffic crashes between the hours of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in 2006, according to National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Sixty-four percent of those passenger vehicle occupants killed were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash.
According to a KDOT release, in 2006, 60 percent of all traffic fatalities in Kansas were not wearing their seat belts. “When worn correctly seat belts have been 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.”
If you are one of the nearly one in five Americans who still do not buckle up while in a car, start a new habit next week and learn to “Click it. Or ticket.”
The statistics are clear, seat belt usage saves lives.

Jessica Tims-Seeliger, for The Morning Sun