Click It or Ticket campaign reminds drivers: Buckle Up May 20 - June 2 and Every Day

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 7, which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, is urging drivers to buckle up ahead of a national Click It or Ticket high-visibility seat belt enforcement effort. The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 20 to June 2.

“We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy. “It’s not just a safe thing to do — it’s the law. During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we work with our law enforcement partners across local and state lines to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life. So often, it could have been prevented.”

The states in Region 7 saw an overall increase in seat belt use over the last year, but this appears to be the exception. The national seat belt use rate in 2023 was 91.9 percent. The other 8.1% of drivers and passengers must remember that seat belts save lives. During this high visibility event, participating law enforcement agencies will take a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night. Also, men are overrepresented in unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities with 54 percent of men (8,098 people) and 41 percent of women (3,201 people) dying without a seat belt in 2022.

“If the enforcement effort alerts people to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success,” Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy said. “If you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to consider changing their habits. Please help us spread this life-saving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. A five-second effort to fasten your seat belts can save your life, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember to buckle up.”

For more information on the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization visit NHTSA.gov/ClickIt.