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As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, The Harlan police Department is joining the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety in reminding motorists to Click It or Ticket.

The annual campaign is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) high-visibility enforcement effort that runs May 23 – June 5. We see firsthand severe injuries or loss of life when adults do not wear a seat belt or children are not properly restrained in a child seat or booster.

Our hope is that buckling up becomes the automatic first step for everyone when entering a vehicle. The campaign helps increase seat belt enforcement with traffic safety checkpoints and saturation patrols.

According to the KOHS, of the 806 roadway deaths last year in Kentucky, 609 were occupants of motor vehicles. Of those killed in motor vehicle crashes, 333 were either not wearing a seat belt or were not properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat. Twelve of the 609 were children age 9 and under. Four of those twelve were improperly restrained.

Please help us spread this life-saving message.

“The two-seconds it takes to buckle up is the simplest thing you
can do to prevent injury or death in a crash, especially at night.”

According to NHTSA, despite the low traffic volume, fatal crashes are three times higher nationwide at nighttime versus daytime. In Kentucky last year, of the 609 occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes, 302 occurred at night. Of those, 111 were unrestrained.

If the enforcement crackdown increases awareness of the dangers of driving or riding unrestrained, we’ll consider it a success.

Seat belts, child seats and boosters save lives, and everyone—front seat and back, child and adult—must buckle up, day and night.

Also according to NHTSA, when worn correctly, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45 percent for front-seat vehicle occupants and by 60 percent for pickup truck, SUV and minivan occupants. Additionally, child seats are 71 percent effective in reducing infant deaths, 54 percent effective in reducing toddler deaths and 67 percent effective in reducing the need for hospitalization.

For older children, the use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children in crashes by 59 percent compared with the use of vehicle seat belts.

For additional information on seat belts, visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts.

For additional information on child seats and boosters, visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats.