PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A two-week seat belt enforcement campaign has begun in New Jersey, but police on this side of the Delaware River are also getting in on the act. It's the annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says nearly half of the 22,000 people who died in vehicle crashes nationwide in 2019 were not wearing seat belts. Beginning today, police departments across the Garden State are staging seat belt checkpoints and other awareness events to get drivers and passengers to buckle up.
Eric Heitmann, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, says local, state and county police are going to be looking for anyone who isn't wearing a seat belt.
"I always use the anecdote, you wouldn't get on a roller coaster without a harness," he said, "so why get in a car at 50 or even 25 miles an hour without a seatbelt on?"
Police on the Jersey border in Pennsylvania and New York are also teaming up to help find unbelted travelers.
Heitman said, "New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are teaming up for a 'Border to Border' event, on Monday, the 24th, that's going to feature highly visible seatbelt enforcement at our state borders. The goal is to reinforce the fact that this is a nationwide campaign and seatbelt usage, and the life-saving purpose of seat belts, doesn't change when you cross the border from one state to another."
He added, "We want to see zero tragedies on New Jersey's roads, and our best path to zero fatalities is to have everyone buckled and have all of our drivers buckled, fully attentive and sober."
Heitmann said police departments in the Garden State will be splitting more than $800,000 in grant money to pay for seat belt checkpoints, overtime, and personnel for the ticket blitz.
"From May 24 to June 6, these officers will mobilize to enforce our seatbelt laws. If they observe a violation, the vehicle can be stopped, and any unbuckled occupant in any position can be issued a citation," he said.
More information can be found at NJSafeRoads.com.