North Carolina ‘Click it or Ticket’ Yields 15,000 Restraint Violations

North Carolina authorities cited more than 15,000 drivers and passengers for seat belt and child passenger safety violations during the “Click It or Ticket” campaign between May 19 and June 1 according to Gov. Mike Easley.

The final statewide total for the campaign includes 13,910 seat belt citations and 1,374 child passenger safety citations. State and local law enforcement officers issued the citations during more than 8,200 checkpoints and stepped-up patrols.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program administers “Click It or Ticket.” In 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted the campaign as a national model that is now used in more than 40 states.

In 2007, the federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that North Carolina’s seat belt use rate was 88.8 percent, its highest rate ever. The state’s usage rate was 65 percent when the program began 15 years ago. Counties where the most occupant restraint citations were issued include: Mecklenburg (1,666), Wake (906), Burke (574) and Robeson (571).

In addition to cracking down on unrestrained drivers and passengers, officers across the state charged 2,124 motorists with driving while impaired. Officers issued a total of 7,290 criminal violations, including 1,833 drug charges, 149 stolen vehicles and 439 fugitives captured.

Source: Office of the Governor of North Carolina

Topics North Carolina