Police Announce Zero Tolerance Seat Belt Crackdown

Take extra care to click that seat belt into place over the next few weeks, because, in an effort to increase seatbelt use and enhance traffic safety, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) and the Massachusetts State Police launched their Spring 2011 "Click It or Ticket" mobilization on Monday.

The statewide effort will mean a high-visibility traffic enforcement, as well as a public information campaign that will run through June 5.

State Police and more than 180 local police departments, including Marlborough, have issued zero-tolerance enforcement policies and will be ticketing unbelted vehicle occupants on roadways in Massachusetts.

Captain Timothy Naze, the Patrol Division Commander of the , confirmed the local department's participation in the program.

"This means that a number of additional overtime shifts are being added for the purpose of traffic enforcement and seat belt safety," said Naze.

Funding for such programs comes in large part from grants from state and federal agencies. EOPSS has provided more than $543,000 in federal highway safety funds, $493,000 of which was allocated to the state and local police for additional enforcement. The balance of the funds will be used for public information highlighting the benefits of wearing seat belts and the extra enforcement during the mobilization, said a release.

State Police alone will roll hundreds of additional patrols – in addition to regular around-the-clock patrols out of each barracks – during the mobilization.

“Seatbelts are your best defense in a crash, yet more than 25 percent of drivers still fail to buckle up,” said Colonel Marian McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, in a release. “Tickets will be issued to those who are pulled over and are not wearing their seat belt or if any passenger in the car is unbelted.  Everyone in a vehicle needs to buckle up.”

In Massachusetts, driving or riding without a properly secured seat belt is punishable by a $25 fine for the driver and for each passenger not properly restrained.

In 2008, www.mass.gov says that 12,925 people were killed in crashes while not wearing a safety belt in the United States.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, based on known usage, 52 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 in Massachusetts were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.  When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of a fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent – and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans.

For more information, go towww.mass.gov/highwaysafety.

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