The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office will increase patrols for the next three weeks to encourage drivers and passengers to buckle up.
The sheriff’s office is joining other agencies across Indiana in the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign to enforce seat-belt-wearing ahead of Memorial Day weekend, according to a news release from JCSO.
The goal is to reduce the number of traffic injuries and fatalities from lack of seat belt use. Data from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute shows that unbuckled motorists make up almost 40% of all passenger vehicle deaths in the state, the release said.
“Our focus is not on writing tickets but to encourage people to buckle up in order to saves lives,” Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess said in the statement. “Seat belts are your best form of protection in a crash and against dangerous drivers. At the end of the day, we want everyone to reach their destination safely.”
These heightened patrols are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with grants administered by the state criminal justice institute.
Indiana law requires the driver and all passengers to buckle up while in a vehicle. Children under eight years old must be properly restrained in a child car seat or booster seat, the release says.
Throughout the campaign, officers will be watching for seat belt and car seat violations while conducting “high-visibility” patrols during the day and night. Drivers can be cited for lack of seat belt use, but also for each unbuckled passenger under the age of 16, according to the release.
Since the “Click It or Ticket” initiative began more than 20 years ago, seat belt use has gone up 30% in Indiana. Indiana is at 92.9% seat belt usage, which is slightly higher than the national average of 90.3%, the release says.
In 2020, 226 unbuckled vehicle occupants lost their lives in Indiana, which is the second highest amount in the past decade. Young drivers, especially males, were the least likely to be buckled during a crash, the release says.
