'Click It or Ticket' campaign begins Friday

May 12, 2011

'Click It or Ticket' campaign begins Friday

A statewide occupant protection campaign targeting Illinois motorists begins Friday and runs through the rest of the month.

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign will focus on motorists who are not wearing seat belts and children who are not properly secured in vehicles. May is national “Click It or Ticket” month.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety, more than 4,000 lives have been saved since the state’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign began in 2000. The state’s seat belt usage has increased during that time from 70.2 percent in 2000 to 92.6 percent in 2010.

Nationwide in 2009, 11,593 people in passenger vehicles died in crashes between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Sixty-two percent of those who died were not wearing safety belts at the time.

For more information, contact Rachel Walker, traffic safety coordinator, SIUC Safety Center and researcher II, with SIUC’s Department of Health Education and Recreation. Additional information is available at www.buckleupillinois.org/.