Starting this week and extending through June 2nd, the Grants Pass Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff's Office and law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon are using federally-funded overtime to educate the public about safety belt and child safety seat laws.
The US Department of Transportation and Oregon Department of Transportation are urging drivers to buckle up for the national "Click It or Ticket" high-visibility seat belt enforcement effort that coincides with Memorial Day holiday weekend.
During the campaign, police and deputies will work with fellow law enforcement officers across local and state lines to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the national seat belt use rate in 2023 was 91.9%. That's good, but it can be better. The other 8.1% still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives. Participating agencies will take a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement and write citations.
One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night. Seat belt use differs among males and females. Of the males killed in crashes in 2021, more than half were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42% were not buckled up.
ODOT crash data for 2020 shows nearly 1/3 of all motor vehicle occupant fatalities that year were due to lack of safety belt or child restrain use.
