Click It or Ticket Campaign: NHTSA Urges Seat Belt Use as Half of Crash Victims Found Unrestrained

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has commenced its annual Click It or Ticket campaign, aimed at urging drivers and passengers to buckle up and emphasizing the life-saving benefits of seat belts.

In a coordinated effort, law enforcement agencies across the country will collaborate during a heightened enforcement period from May 22 to June 4 to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers by cracking down on unrestrained vehicle occupants.

Accompanying the campaign, NHTSA released an Occupant Protection Traffic Safety report that sheds light on the alarmingly high rate of unrestrained fatalities among pickup truck drivers and passengers. The data revealed that pickup truck occupants consistently accounted for the highest percentage of unrestrained fatalities across all vehicle types for almost two decades. Consequently, efforts to increase seat belt usage will focus on this particular group.

Crash data also shows that nighttime crashes exhibit a disproportionately high percentage of unrestrained fatalities compared to daytime incidents.

NHTSA’s campaign aligns with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) comprehensive National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), a multifaceted approach aimed at addressing the growing crisis of traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The NRSS adopts a safe system approach, incorporating measures to enhance road safety, promote responsible behavior, improve vehicle safety features, regulate speed limits, and provide better post-crash care.