ICYMI: Seat Belt Crackdown Begins Next Week Across Somerset County

Thanks to grants from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said police throughout the county will be cracking down on motorists not wearing seat belts over a two-week period this month.

The annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign will begin on Monday, May 18 and run through the end of the month, May 31. Cops across Somerset County will be on the lookout for seat belt violations for drivers and passengers alike. Authorities said this year’s campaign will also focus on rear seat passengers and nighttime enforcement.

“Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a driver and their passengers to protect themselves when traveling,” Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said. “In the year 2012, seat belts saved an estimated 12,000 lives nationwide.”

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office received an $88,000 grant for additional patrols, according to the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, which will result in additional patrol shifts during the two-week period.

In May 2014, 374 police agencies in the state of New Jersey participated in the Click It or Ticket Enforcement Mobilization, resulting in 26,635 seat belt citations. According to the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, New Jersey’s seat belt usage rate currently stands at 87.59 percent, down from 94.51 percent in 2011 and the lowest usage rate since 2005.

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