The Collegedale Police Department is urging drivers to buckle up during the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s national Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort. The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 22 to June 4.
“During the Click it or Ticket campaign, our officers will be working with law enforcement agencies across the county to make sure that this message makes it out to everyone on our city roads,” said Chief Jack Sapp.
“Too often we see what happens when people don’t wear their seatbelts and it’s a gruesome loss; and it could’ve been prevented had they just worn their seatbelt.”
According to NHTSA, in 2021 there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 57 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.
In Tennessee the penalty for a seat belt violation is $30 for a first violation, and $55 for a second or subsequent seat belt violation.
Fifteen dollars generated from a first offense conviction goes to the State of Tennessee’s general fund. Ten dollars goes to the state and is used for the rehabilitation of disabled people who have been severely injured in motor vehicle crashes. The remaining five dollars is retained by the court clerk’s office.
Thirty dollars generated from a second or subsequent conviction goes to the State of Tennessee’s general fund. Twenty dollars goes to the state and is used for the rehabilitation of disabled people who have been severely injured in motor vehicle crashes. The remaining five dollars is retained by the court clerk’s office.
NHTSA data shows that seat belt use is higher among females than males. In fact, nearly twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females in 2021. Of the males killed in crashes during that same year, more than half (54 percent) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42 percent were not buckled up.
“If you know someone, whether they’re a friend or loved one, who doesn’t buckle up when they drive, ask them to change their habit,” said Sgt. Josh Booth, traffic crash investigator with the Collegedale Police Department. “Help us get this message out before one more person is killed because they didn’t buckle up.”
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, visit NHTSA.gov/ciot.