Largest law enforcement mobilization ever in Wisconsin

May 18, 2009

Click It or Ticket kicks off efforts to boost safety belt use

To save lives and prevent serious injuries on Wisconsin roads, approximately 350 law enforcement agencies throughout the state will mobilize for the national Click It or Ticket safety belt campaign beginning today (May 18) through May 31.

This year's Click It or Ticket is the largest coordinated law enforcement mobilization ever in Wisconsin. Officers will be patrolling in greater numbers and for longer hours to enforce the state's mandatory safety belt law. In addition, Click It or Ticket messages to promote safety belt use will be broadcast on television and radio stations throughout the state. Federal funding administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will be used to pay for overtime enforcement and statewide media messages.

"The Click It or Ticket enforcement strategy is simple and direct. If you are stopped by an officer and aren't wearing a safety belt, you will get a ticket. There'll be no warnings or second chances," says Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent David Collins. "Our goal is not to write more tickets but to save lives and prevent needless injuries by getting people to voluntarily comply with the law. But if voluntary compliance fails, officers will take enforcement action."

Wisconsin has a safety belt use rate of only 74 percent, which lags well behind the national average of 83 percent and ranks 44th out of 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Because national studies show that safety belt use declines at night, this year's Click It or Ticket mobilization will strive to convince motorists to buckle up every time they drive or ride-day or night. Approximately 73 percent of nighttime traffic fatalities in Wisconsin were unrestrained compared with 48 percent of daytime fatalities in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

"Consistent safety belt use provides the most effective protection against being ejected from a vehicle or thrown around violently inside it during a crash," says Collins. "The goal of law enforcement agencies throughout the state is ultimately to reduce the number of preventable traffic deaths to zero in Wisconsin. To help achieve the 'Zero in Wisconsin' goal, everyone must remember that the few seconds it takes to buckle up can prevent a trip to the emergency room, or worse yet, the morgue."

For more information, contact:
Dennis Hughes, Bureau of Transportation Safety
(608) 267-9075, dennis.hughes@dot.wi.gov

Steve Olson, Office of Public Affairs
(608) 261-5896, steven.olson@dot.wi.gov