The May 2013 Click It or Ticket Mobilization will play a critical role in the effort to keep people safe on our nation’s roads and highways. From May 20 – June 2, 2013 law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and nationwide will conduct Click It or Ticket campaigns that incorporated zero-tolerance enforcement of safety belt laws with paid advertising and the support of government agencies, local coalitions and school officials to increase safety belt use and defend against one of the greatest threats to us all – serious injury or death in traffic crashes.

Click It or Ticket is a high-publicity law enforcement effort that gives people more of a reason to buckle up – the increased threat of a traffic ticket. Most people buckle up for safety. But for some people, it is the threat of the ticket that spurs them to put on a safety belt.

In Click It or Ticket programs, law enforcement agencies are asked to mobilize to focus on safety belt violations and publicize the stepped-up effort through news media and advertising. It is the two-pronged approach that makes these campaigns powerful: Not only are tickets issued to unbelted motorists, but the surrounding publicity ensures that people know they are more likely to get a ticket.

Click It or Ticket campaigns and similar efforts have increased safety belt use in cities, states and even in an entire region of the country. In New Jersey, 425 police agencies participated in the May 2012 Click It or Ticket Enforcement Mobilization. As a result of the enforcement and public information efforts, New Jersey’s seat belt usage rate currently stands at 88.29%, 3% higher that the nationwide usage rate. While the current seat belt usage rate is 6% lower than the usage rate measured in 2011, a new set of guidelines determined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2012 changed the methodology of determining seat belt usage rates, which may have contributed to the reduction of the current usage rate. [TLS]