Lacey Police: Wear Your Seat Belt, Save Your Life

Lacey Township police have joined with law enforcement officers from around the country in cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign, Police Chief Michael C. DiBella said.

The campaign will run through June 4 and will use high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols to find drivers who are not wearing them.

Grants are paying for the additional patrols in Lacey, which will use both marked and stealth-type vehicles during the patrols, DiBella said.

Police will also focus on promoting seat belt usage in both front and rear seats in vehicles, the chief said.

Front seat belt usage rates in New Jersey stands at 93.35 percent. But the rate of adults riding in rear seats is significantly lowerr, said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.

"For whatever reason there seems to be a disconnect with people feeling they don’t need to buckle up when riding as a passenger in rear seats, and this is a concern,” he said.

So buckle up. It's your best defense against an impaired driver, the chief said.

Image: Patch file photo.