Police Enforcing Seat Belt Laws Memorial Day Weekend
CHICAGO (WBBM) - It is click it or ticket across the country this Memorial Day Weekend, including the Midwest.
Some 2,600 law enforcement agencies in the Midwest are joining police departments throughout the national in an effort that also features extensive nighttime safety belt enforcement.
Police will be setting up checkpoints in some states, as well.
John Balser, Deputy Regional Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in 2010, over 6,000 people riding in vehicles killed in nighttime crashes were not wearing seat belts. He says current statistics show a similar trend.
Balser also adds that in 2010, over 12,500 lives were saved in vehicle crashes for occupants five years and older.
A 2011 survey found that seat belt use for motorists in the West decreased significantly from 95-percent in 2010 to 93-percent in 2011.
Seat belt use continues to be higher in the States in which vehicle occupants can be pulled over solely for not using seat belts as compared with the States with weaker enforcement laws or without seat belt laws.
