The Benton Police Department, along with other agencies, will be teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this Thanksgiving on a high-visibility Click It or Ticket campaign in an effort to reduce fatalities resulting from a failure to buckle up.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and with millions of Americans on the road, it is more essential than ever to ensure all passengers are wearing their seat belt. Officers will be on the lookout, and when vehicles are pulled over and drivers or passengers are unbuckled, a citation will be issued.
“Wearing a seat belt is the single most effective thing in preventing injury or death in a vehicle crash,” said BNPD Assistant Chief Jeff Besancon. “Sadly, over half of the people who died in fatal traffic crashes during Thanksgiving 2016 were not wearing a seat belt, so we will be out in full force to ensure both drivers and passengers are buckled up as they travel to their holiday destinations.”
In Arkansas, the law requires all front seat passengers, not just drivers, to be properly buckled up. It also requires all children less than 15 years of age to be properly secured in the vehicle and children less than 6 years of age and weighing less than 60 pounds to be restrained in a child passenger safety seat. If the driver has a restricted license, all passengers in the vehicle must be properly buckled up.
“We see the effects of unbuckled vehicle crashes far too often,” said Besancon. “Whether you’re driving cross-country or across the street, you must buckle up—on Thanksgiving and every other day.”
For more information regarding Click It or Ticket or travel safety, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/click-it-or-ticket.