Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder advises the Washington County Sheriff's Office will be joining law enforcement agencies across the country during the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort.
The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, will run from May 17 through June 6, 2021.
According to NHTSA, in 2019, there were 9,466 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That's why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement.
Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night. For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.
Funds that allow the increased patrol are provided through the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP).