VERO BEACH – Drivers in and around Vero Beach had better use their seatbelts or face getting a ticket, especially during the next two weeks as the Vero Beach Police Department plans to get involved in Click It or Ticket 2010, authorities said.
“Nighttime drivers and passengers continue to be among those least likely to wear seat belts,” Vero Beach Police Chief Don Dappen said. “Consequently, they are also among those most likely to die in motor vehicle crashes.”
The Click It or Ticket campaign runs from May 24 through June 6, though officers will continue to enforce the seatbelt laws well after the campaign concludes.
“Local motorists should be prepared for stepped up Click It or Ticket activities that will take place around the clock,” the chief added. “If law enforcement finds you on the road unbuckled anytime or anywhere, you can expect to get a ticket – not a warning. No excuses and no exceptions.”
In 2008, more than 12,600 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes nationwide between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Nearly two-thirds of those who died were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crashes, compared to less than half of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during the daytime hours of 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.
The Vero Beach Police Department joins hundreds of law enforcement officials, highway safety representatives and safety advocates nationwide who have vowed support of the annual mobilization.
High-visibility enforcement such as the Click It or Ticket mobilization is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an observed usage rate of 84 percent in 2009.