Do You Buckle Your Seatbelt?
If you do not it is time to set your calendars. March 23rd to March 29th the Rhode Island State Police will be joining with other local agencies for a new campaign. Nationwide law enforcement agencies will be working to increase road safety as well as government funding by operating a “click it or ticket” campaign. If you are not familiar with click it or ticket it is a program created in the late 90s to increase seat belt usage in the United States. According to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association wearing your seatbelt decreases your risk of moderate injury by 45% and fatal injury by 50%.
Click It Or Ticket
It has always been a message and goal of the NHTSA to increase seatbelt usage. Because of the increase in seatbelt usage and increasing nationwide seatbelt laws, there has been a decrease in traffic fatalities. To improve safety for drivers in June of 2011 Governor Chaffee signed into law a bill that said all drivers must wear a seatbelt. It is also important to note that this new seatbelt law is a primary offense which means that you can be pulled over for no other reason than not having your not having your seat belt on. If you are pulled over for not having a seatbelt on your will be fined $40.00. During Click it or ticket week, you will notice that there will be much more police presence and many more people pulled over. Do not be the person who gets pulled over this week and is late to work or worse. Remember once you are pulled over this is the perfect time for the police to check your lights, your plates, your license, and your criminal record. If you have unpaid tickets, no insurance, or some other reason you should not be pulled over be sure that you keep your seatbelt buckled.
While some groups may be calling, click it or ticket a cash grab or an excuse for the police to make people late to work it does have a purpose. Events like click it or ticket brings law enforcement together and helps our community become stronger. It is important that everyone wear their seat belts and cooperate to make sure that we take our time on the roads. The Law Office of S. Joshua Macktaz, Esq. wants everyone to have a safe week and remember click it or ticket. If you need traffic ticket defense call us today.
