Colorado State University’s ClickitOr Ticket Campaign Reminds Drivers to Â??buckle Up’ on Campus

The Colorado State University Police Department is continuing its commitment to safety on the Colorado State campus by participating along with other local and national police departments in the Click it or Ticket campaign, stepping up seat belt enforcement through June 13.

The theme of this year’s Click it or Ticket campaign is "Buckle up in your truck," reflecting the fact that pickups are twice as likely to be involved in a rollover accident as cars. Statistics show that wearing a seat belt increases odds of survival in a rollover crash by 70 to 80 percent, according to Colorado State University Police Officer Yvonne Paez, who added that 40 percent of fatal rollover crashes involve excessive speeding.

"Thousands of lives each year can be saved in rollovers if drivers and passengers wear their safety belts in their trucks. It’s that simple," Paez said.  "Please buckle up. It’s the law, and it’s enforced."

During the national Click It or Ticket campaign, officers will intensify enforcement of safety belt laws and child passenger safety laws by informing motorists of the law and educating them about the dangers of not wearing seatbelts. Drivers failing to restrain themselves and their child passengers may be ticketed according to the law.

This mobilization relies on periods of intense enforcement of seat belt laws coupled with media outreach to let people know about the enforcement. For many non-seat belt users and especially young people, the threat of a ticket has proven to be a greater inducement to buckle up than the threat of injury or death. Colorado law requires that motorists be stopped for a violation other than not wearing a safety belt before being cited for such.

"We want to reach those least likely to buckle up and most at-risk to die," said Chuck Hurley, executive director of the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign.

The mobilization is conducted twice yearly by the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety Council in conjunction with law enforcement agencies, state highway safety offices, NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board. The mobilization is also part of Buckle Up America, an ongoing NHTSA initiative to increase belt use and save lives.

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