Buckle up or risk losing your life on the roadway

The Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department will join thousands of law enforcement agencies for this year’s Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign, one of the nation’s most important highway safety efforts. From May 24 through June 6, the local department will join officers statewide and nationwide, to patrol for longer hours, to reinforce one safety message – BUCKLE UP.

The annual campaign coincides with the first summer travel holiday.

“Wisconsinites are anxious to resume their holiday traditions, and that often includes a long weekend getaway or a day trip,” said Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk. “With an increased number of cars flooding the roads for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, it’s vital that we get the word out about the importance of wearing a seat belt.”

Currently, 89 percent of Wisconsin motorists wear safety belts. The 11 percent who fail to buckle up, accounted for 43 percent of all the drivers and passengers killed in Wisconsin traffic crashes in 2020.

Wisconsin’s primary seat belt law, in place since 2009, allows law enforcement to stop and cite motorists for failing to wear a seat belt. Drivers can also be cited for every unbuckled passenger in their vehicle.

Penalties are higher for transporting unrestrained children. Failure to fasten a seat belt is among the most common traffic violations in Wisconsin, resulting in more than 27,000 traffic convictions last year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (between 6 p.m. and 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.

“We aren’t handing out tickets for the thrill of it,” said Kowalczyk. “Wearing a seat belt is not only the law, it can save your life. Help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed, as a result of this senseless inaction.”

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, visit nhtsa.gov/ciot.