Click it or get a ticket.
TRENTON - As New Jersey begins to reopen ahead of the busy summer travel season, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety today announced the upcoming launch of a statewide seat belt enforcement campaign aimed at promoting safe travels on New Jersey roadways.
Starting Monday, May 24, state, county, and local police departments throughout New Jersey will join law enforcement agencies across the country in the 2021 Click It or Ticket campaign, a national enforcement mobilization targeting unbuckled drivers and passengers.
Atlantic County municipalities receiving enforcement grant funds are:
In 2019, nearly half or 47% of the 22,215 passenger-vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationwide were not wearing seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In New Jersey that year, 42% or 108 of the 260 passenger-vehicle occupants who were killed were unrestrained. And in passenger vehicle fatalities occurring at night, the percentage of those killed and not wearing seat belts jumped to 55%.
Across the campaign, participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt enforcement, writing citations throughout the day and with a particular focus on nighttime enforcement. In New Jersey, the maximum penalty for a seat belt violation is $46.
Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and critical injury by 50 percent, said Eric Heitmann, director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety. By working together to enforce New Jersey's seat belt laws during the Click It or Ticket campaign, participating law enforcement agencies are promoting safe habits that will help reach our goal of zero fatalities on New Jersey roadways. If enforcement wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we'll consider our mission to be a success.
To enhance law enforcement efforts during the Click It or Ticket campaign, the Division is providing a total of $810,120 in grant funding to 134 agencies throughout the state. The money helps agencies pay for additional officers on the road, seat belt checkpoints, and other enforcement initiatives during the campaign. All police departments in New Jersey are invited to support the campaign, whether they receive grant funding or not.
To learn more about the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot
https://youtu.be/stzrWDJ66MQ
