The Click It or Ticket campaign will be in full effect with statewide overtime seat belt enforcement through June 4. Daily enforcement traffic safety checkpoints and saturation patrols will be conducted day & night by 24 state, local, and municipal police agencies statewide. Much of the enforcement will occur in the afternoons and evenings when the majority of unrestrained injuries and fatal crashes occur, according to the Milford Beacon.
Currently, Delaware’s unrestrained fatal crashes are out pacing this time last year. At this time last year 35% of the fatal vehicle occupants were not wearing seat belts compared to 46% currently.
Delaware law requires drivers and all passengers, including those in the back seat, to wear a seat belt. An officer can pull over a driver if he sees any person in the vehicle not wearing a seat belt, even if there is no other violation. Officers will be issuing citations for seat belt violations as part of a zero tolerance policy. The ticket, which goes to the driver no matter who is unbuckled in the vehicle, is a $25 fine plus court costs, which can eventually total as much as $70.
Participating agencies include Dewey, Dover, Elsmere, Felton, Georgetown, Laurel, Milford, Millsboro, New Castle City, New Castle County, Newark, Newport, Rehoboth, Seaford, Wilmington, Wyoming, and Delaware State Police.
Enforcement is being accompanied by a statewide public awareness effort in the form of radio & internet advertising coupled with the Buckle Up Stencil Project. The Buckle Up Stencil Project is a partnership between OHS and local businesses. The stencil serves as a visual reminder to Buckle Up before leaving the participating business or organizations parking lot and is an image of two hands clicking a seat belt together with the works Buckle Up underneath. OHS has partnered with Dover Downs, Delaware Army National Guard, Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Perdue Farms Inc in Milford, Milford High School, and Pepsi Bottling Ventures in Harrington to stencil their locations.
For more information on Click It or Ticket campaign, enforcement results and the Buckle Up Stencil project, visit www.ohs.delaware.gov.
