2016 Click It or Ticket

Change Habits to Save Lives

Be a Part of the Progress

• From May 23 - June 5, State and local law enforcement agencies across the nation are stepping up enforcement to crack down on motorists who aren’t wearing their seat belts.

• The national seat belt use rate is at 87 percent, which is good, but we can do better. The other 13 percent—an estimated 27.5 million people—still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives.

Enforce Life-Saving Laws

• Click It or Ticket isn’t about the citations; it’s about saving lives. In 2014, there were 9,385 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. To help prevent crash fatalities, we need to step-up enforcement and crack down on those who don’t wear their seat belts.

• Seat belt use is required by law for a reason: In 2014, seat belts saved an estimated 12,802 people from dying. From 2010 to 2014 seat belts saved nearly 63,000 lives.

• If all passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older involved in fatal crashes had worn their seat belts, an additional 2,814 lives could have been saved in 2014 alone.

Face the Facts

• In 2014, nearly half of the passenger vehicle occupants who died in crashes were unrestrained.

• Among young adults ages 18 to 34 killed in crashes, 57 percent were completely unrestrained—one of the highest percentages for all age groups.

• In 2014, there were 602 children 12 and younger killed in motor vehicle crashes. Of those deaths, more than a third (34%) were unrestrained.

• Men make up the majority of those killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. In 2013, about 65 percent of the 21,022 passenger vehicle occupants killed were men. So it comes as no surprise that they wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do – 53 percent of men in fatal crashes were unrestrained, compared to 40 percent for women.

Bust the Myths

• Vehicle type: There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks, that their large vehicles will protect them more than other vehicles in a crash. But the numbers say otherwise. Sixty-one percent of pickup truck occupants who were killed in 2014 were not buckled up. That’s compared to 42 percent of passenger car occupants who were killed while not wearing their seat belts. Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash.

• Seating position: Too many people wrongly believe they are safe in the back seat unrestrained. Forty-seven percent of all front-seat passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2014 were unrestrained, but 58 percent of those killed in back seats were unrestrained.

• Rural versus urban locations: People who live in rural areas might believe that their crash exposure is lower, but in 2014, there were 12,444 passenger vehicle fatalities in rural locations, compared to 8,332 fatalities in urban locations. Out of those fatalities, 51 percent of those killed in the rural locations were not wearing their seat belts, compared to 45 percent in urban locations.

Click or Ticket—Day and Night

• High-visibility seat belt enforcement is important 24 hours a day, but nighttime is especially deadly for unbuckled occupants. In 2014, 57 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts.