Department of Highways, District 6
‘Click It or Ticket’ enforcement campaign kick off

‘Click It or Ticket’ enforcement campaign kick off

Kentucky and Ohio partner together to remind the importance of seatbelts

COVINGTON, Ky. – Today in downtown Cincinnati, over 30 law enforcement and safety agencies surrounded Fountain Square to send a simple message:  Seatbelts Do Save Lives.  Kentucky and Ohio joined together during the lunch hour to announce the Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign, the Click It For Tickets and the Rivers and Roads Corridor Enforcement Project.  All the safety campaigns will run May 24 – June 6.

On the Kentucky side, despite a wealth of data showing that seat belts save lives – and also despite implementation of a primary seat belt law – Kentucky’s 80 percent seat belt usage rate lags behind the national rate of 84 percent.  The annual Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign will attempt to bring awareness to this issue as officers buckle down on those not buckled up.

 “Kentucky undoubtedly experiences far too many fatalities which could have been avoided with the simple use of a seat belt,” said Office of Highway Safety Executive Director Chuck Geveden. “Clearly this is an indication that people are just not aware of the huge risk taken by not buckling up.”

As of today, 232 people have been killed on Kentucky roadways this year – 67 fewer than at the same point in 2009. Geveden said the decline in fatalities is encouraging, but he pointed to a sobering statistic that indicates Kentucky can do much better: 398 (61.3 percent) of the 649 people killed in motor vehicles in Kentucky in 2009 were not wearing a seat belt. “We believe a majority of these lives could have been saved if they had been restrained,” Geveden said.

Traffic safety checkpoints and saturation patrols will be conducted by state and local law enforcement during the two-week Click It or Ticket mobilization, looking for any traffic violation with an emphasis on seat belt usage. Those not buckled up or who are in violation of other laws will receive a citation. But those who are buckled will receive a different kind of ticket – a “Click It FOR Tickets” voucher that allows them to register to win a pair of tickets to the Kentucky Speedway.

Geveden says the office awarded more than $240,000 in federal funds to 59 state and local police agencies across the commonwealth to help bolster seat belt enforcement during the campaign.  The funding is provided through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Although enforcement officers will be prevalent during the campaign, Geveden emphasized, “The Click It or Ticket campaign is not about writing tickets.  It’s about awareness and saving lives. If one life is saved through the effort, it will be worth it.”

According to the NHTSA, when worn correctly, seat belts are proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants by 45 percent – and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans.

Captain Daniel Gerard - Special Services Section Commander Cincinnati, Ohio Police Department

Chuck Geveden - Executive Director of the 

Kentucky of Highway Safety

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