'Click It or Ticket' seatbelt enforcement effort to begin

PUTNAMVILLE -- Motorists who refuse to wear their seat belts -- beware. Indiana State Police in the Putnamville District will be participating Indiana's 2012 Click It or Ticket seatbelt enforcement, which will begin Friday, May 18.

This national mobilization will take place over the Memorial Day holiday period and is supported by thousands of law enforcement agencies and traffic safety advocates across the country.

In Indiana, more than 250 law enforcement agencies will conduct special patrols -- day and night, to identify and ticket unrestrained motorists. The effort will conclude June 3.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2010 nationally, 61 percent of the 10,647 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes overnight were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash, compared to 42 percent during the day.

In Indiana, there were 3,322 crashes involving unrestrained drivers/occupants in 2011 and 202 fatalities involving unrestrained drivers/occupants.

The Putnamville District had 5, 917 total crashes (restrained and unrestrained), which resulted in 1, 044 injuries and 26 fatalities. Of those 26 fatalities, four were unrestrained, nine were restrained, and seven were unknown if restraint was used. The remaining six were motorcycle related fatalities.

Just last year in Indiana, 1,024 people were ejected from their motor vehicles due to being unrestrained. NHTSA data shows that among teen and young adult passenger vehicle occupants in 2010, ages 18-34 who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes, 62 percent were not buckled up at the time of the crash.

The Indiana State Police have a zero-tolerance policy regarding violations of passenger restraint systems.