In preparation for Memorial Day weekend, the Click It or Ticket campaign that started Monday at UF will crack down on motorists who fail to use their seat belts.
This statewide campaign will run until June 2 and aims to prevent death and minimize injury, according to University Police.
The Click It or Ticket campaigns are set around times when fatalities increase, Officer William Sasser said, for instance, on Thanksgiving Day, Spring Break and Memorial Day.
In Florida, drivers and passengers in the front seat must wear a seat belt, Officer Gregory Castronover said. State law doesn’t require backseat passengers to buckle up.
“Everyone on or around campus can get a $104 seat belt citation,” Castronover said. “Nobody wants to receive a citation if they don’t have to.”
During the last campaign in March, 82 seat belt citations were issued on campus, according to an email from Officer David Watson. Seat belt usage at UF increased by 4 percent, he wrote.
Safety belt compliance usually increases every time police hold a Click It or Ticket campaign, Sasser said.
“It starts out in the low 90s then ends up in the mid to high 90s,” he said. “We’re pretty good about wearing seat belts around here.”
Visibility and enforcement for the Click It or Ticket campaign is credited with helping raise national seat belt use.
Compliance in 2011 was at 84 percent, and by 2012, it reached 86 percent, according to a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Seat belt usage in Southern states increased from 80 percent in 2011 to 85 percent in 2012.
The Florida Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and law enforcement agencies across the state take part in the campaign, according to a UPD media release.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one in five Americans fails to continuously wear a seat belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle.
In 2011, about 21,000 occupants died in car crashes nationally because they didn’t use their seat belts, according to an announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This represents 66 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths.
The announcement also said seat belts saved about 11,949 lives in 2011 and if everyone would have buckled up, an estimated 3,400 additional lives could’ve been saved.
Statistics prove that seat belts prevent more injuries than not wearing them, said Sgt. Tracy Hisler-Pace, public affairs officer for Florida Highway Patrol.
“It’s not always going to save you from injuries,” she said, “but it will minimize the severity.”
