"Click it or Ticket" Begins in Princeton on May 20

Princeton Police will cracking down on drivers and passengers who don't wear their seat belts during the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign May 20- June 2. 

Police will establish high visibility checkpoints and add extra patrols as part of the initiative, which aims to increase the use of life-saving seat belts.  

“Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a driver and his or her passengers to protect themselves when traveling,” said Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.   "In 2010 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,546 lives nationwide.”  

Last year, front seat belt use New Jersey declined for the first time in 15 years, to 88.29%.  Poedubicky said the goal for this year’s campaign is increase the usage rate above 90%, as well as encouraging rear seat passengers to also buckle up. 

Despite laws requiring adult back seat passengers to wear seat belts, adult back seat belt use stands at only 36 percent.

During the 2012 “Click it or Ticket” campaign, 425 police agencies participated in the initiative.  As a result, officers issued 29,307 seat belt citations, 4,951 speeding summonses and made 861 drunk driving arrests.