Sidney – Area law enforcement in conjunction with AAA, would like to remind everyone to buckle up as they drive this holiday weekend. Troopers working alongside local law enforcement agencies are participating in this year’s Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign, held May 21-June 3. Additional troopers, officers, and deputies, will be assigned to work traffic enforcement throughout the campaign looking to remove impaired drivers, enforce crash causing violations, and strictly enforce the safety belt law.

“It’s proven that we achieve more when we work together,” said Sidney Police Chief Will Balling. “This doesn’t mean writing more tickets—it means saving more lives. Through our enforcement efforts, we believe we help keep community members safe and remind drivers of the importance of buckling up. Even at slower speeds, motorists can be injured or killed in a traffic crash if not properly restrained. Participating in this campaign, helps remind people of the importance of such a simple action.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2016 were unrestrained. During this year’s campaign, NHTSA urged law enforcement nationwide to issue seat belt citations to anyone caught in violation of the law—during the day, and especially at night, when 56 percent of those killed are unrestrained.

The national seat belt use rate is currently at 90.1 percent, according to NHTSA’s 2016 data, up from 88.5 percent in 2015. The Click It or Ticket campaign is for the remaining 9.9 percent — some 32 million people who still don’t buckle up. Thousands of lives could be saved each year if every person was properly restrained on the road.

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