RI State Police Remind Motorists to Buckle Up with Click It or Ticket Campaign Underway
SCITUATE, RI – Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety, announces that the Rhode Island State Police is joining other state and local law enforcement agencies participating in the Click It or Ticket nationwide enforcement campaign that begins just ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. During this campaign, which began earlier this week and will continue through Monday, June 5, drivers can expect an increased presence of troopers on all roadways to enforce seatbelt laws.
“We always encourage motorists to buckle up for safety, but we want to drive that message home as we enter the busy summer travel season,” Colonel Assumpico said. “The Rhode Island State Police will do our part to keep roadways safe, but we need you to do yours – by making sure you and your passengers comply with the state’s seatbelt and child restraint laws.”
Art Kinsman, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 1 Administrator, notes: “Wearing a seatbelt is your best defense against drunk, drugged, distracted drivers and your own mistakes. What’s alarming is, nationwide, 48 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2015 were unrestrained. In the state of Rhode Island, you can be pulled over at any time for not wearing your seatbelt. Rhode Island and NHTSA are reminding you to Click It or Ticket.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 35,092 people died in traffic crashes in 2015. That was an increase of 7.2 percent as compared with 2014, ending a five-decade trend of declining fatalities. In 2015, the use of seat belts in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 13,941 lives of occupants. It is estimated that an addi¬tional 2,804 lives would have been saved if those occupants had worn their seatbelts.
In Rhode Island, 10 unbelted vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes in 2016. Law enforcement will continue ticketing unbelted motorists to bring that number to zero. Law enforcement will continue to focus its efforts to get the Click It or Ticket message out. Troopers and participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seatbelt enforcement, writing citations day and night.
In Rhode Island, the penalty for a seatbelt violation is $40 for anyone over age 8. Child restraint violations for children under age 8 are $85.
According to Gabrielle Abbate, Chief of State Highway Safety for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, seatbelt use in Rhode Island stands at 87.5 percent for drivers and front-seat occupants. “Seatbelts should be worn by all occupants and we will continue sending out our safety messages until Rhode Island reaches 100 percent compliance,” she said.
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot. As always, the Rhode Island State Police is committed to aggressively enforcing violations regarding seatbelt and child restraint laws, and all other traffic violations – such as impaired driving, speeding, distracted driving and reckless driving — that make our streets and highways unsafe.
Please help the Rhode Island State Police make our roads safer and call 911 to report unsafe drivers and hazardous road conditions.