Before You Hit the Road This Thanksgiving: Buckle Up Every Trip, Every Time

From the Buffalo Grove Police Department:

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — The Buffalo Grove Police Department is joining in a national effort to reach out to all Thanksgiving travelers with one important message: buckle up. Historically, Thanksgiving is the busiest travel time of the year, putting more people on the road, and unfortunately increasing the likelihood of crashes.

Each year in our country, tens of thousands of passenger vehicle occupants die in motor vehicle crashes. In 2014, 341 people were killed in crashes on Thanksgiving weekend alone. It’s a tragic statistic, but even more tragic is that many of those deaths could have been prevented with one simple click of a seat belt.

The United States Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that proper seat belt use reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45-percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury by 50-percent.

“More than half the drivers and passengers killed in crashes are not wearing seat belts. This is a major problem,” said Traffic Sgt. Anthony Goldstein from the Buffalo Grove Police Department.

The campaign serves as a reminder for those people who still don’t buckle up.

The Buffalo Grove Police Department will be out in force to educate drivers on the importance of wearing their seatbelt, and will be issuing citations to those who are not.

This campaign is funded through a grant of the Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Traffic Safety.

For more information about traveling safely during Thanksgiving, please visit www.nhtsa.gov.

Image via Shutterstock.