05/21/2019 - Seat_Belt_Campaign aTigard Police Department
Media Release
• ' 13125 SW Hall Boulevard I Tigard,Oregon 97223 www.tigard-or.gov/police
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 21, 2019
Contact:
Stefanie Kouremetis, Community Engagement Program Coordinator
Tigard Police Department
Phone: 503-718-2814
Email: stefanie.kouremetis@tigard-or.gov
Tigard Police Participate in Seat Belt Enforcement Campaign
From May 20, 2019 to June 2, 2019, the Tigard Police Department (TPD) is participating in a
national seat-belt enforcement campaign. This annual campaign is part of the U.S. Department of
Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Click It or Ticket high-visibility
enforcement effort. The intent of Click It or Ticket is to save lives. In 2017, there were 10,076
unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States.
During the campaign,TPD Traffic Safety Officers will work overtime on seat-belt enforcement
thanks to a grant awarded by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Where officers observe
other unsafe driving behaviors during this effort, they will be able to intervene. During the Click It or
Ticket campaign in February 2019,TPD officers cited 61 motorists for speeding as well as issued
nine other citations and nine warnings.
Recent surveys of Tigard motorists demonstrated that nearly 96% of front-seat occupants in
passenger vehicles complied with seat-belt laws. The national average is just over 90%. While the
compliance rates are impressive, the lack of seat-belt use has been a factor in numerous motor
vehicle fatalities in Oregon during recent years.
Please find the Click It or Ticket Fact Sheet below. For more information on this campaign,please
visit:www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.
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2019 Click It or Ticket
Products for Enforcement Action Kit: Fact Sheet
Be Part of the Progress
• From May 20-June 2, 2019, State and local law enforcement agencies across the Nation
are stepping up enforcement to crack down on motorists who aren't wearing their seat
belts.
• For this year's Click It or Ticket seat belt mobilization effort, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is asking all States to participate in the kickoff
event, Border to Border (1326), a one-day national seat-belt awareness event
coordinated by participating State highway safety offices and their respective law
enforcement liaisons. The 13213 program aims to increase law enforcement participation
by coordinating highly visible seat belt enforcement and providing seat belt fact
sheets for drivers at heavily traveled, highly visible State border checkpoints.
Enforce Lifesaving Laws
• Click It or Ticket isn't about citations; it's about saving lives. In 2017, there were
10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States.
To help prevent crash fatalities, we need to step up enforcement and crack down on
those who don't wear their seat belts.
• Seat belt use is required by law for a reason: In 2017, seat belts saved an estimated
14,955 lives of occupants 5 and older. From 2013 to 2017, seat belts saved nearly
69,000 lives.
• If all passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older involved in fatal crashes had worn their
seat belts, an additional 2,549 lives could have been saved in 2017 alone.
Face the Facts
• The national seat belt use rate in 2017 was 89.7 percent, which is good—but we can do
better. The other 10.3 percent still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives.
• Among young adults 18 to 34 killed in crashes in 2017, more than half (57%) were
completely unrestrained—one of the highest percentages for all age groups.
• Men make up the majority of those killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. In 2017, 65
percent of the 23,551 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed were men. It
comes as no surprise that men wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do-
51 percent of men killed in crashes were unrestrained, compared to 39 percent of
women.
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• High-visibility seat belt enforcement is important 24 hours a day, but nighttime is
especially deadly for unbuckled occupants. In 2017, 55 percent of passenger vehicle
occupants killed at night (6 p.m.-5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts.
Bust the Myths
• Vehicle type: There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in
pickup trucks that their large vehicles will protect them better than other vehicles
would in a crash. The numbers say otherwise: 59 percent of pickup truck occupants
who were killed in 2017 were not buckled. That's compared to 42 percent of
passenger car occupants who were not wearing seat belts when they were killed.
Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive
in a crash.
• Seating position: Too many people wrongly believe they are safe in the back seat
unrestrained. Forty-six percent of all front-seat passenger vehicle occupants killed in
crashes in 2017 were unrestrained, but 56 percent of those killed in back seats were
unrestrained.
• Rural versus urban locations: People who live in rural areas might believe that their
crash exposure is lower, but in 2017, there were 12,786 passenger vehicle fatalities in
rural locations, compared to 10,316 fatalities in urban locations. Out of those
fatalities, 49 percent of those killed in the rural locations were not wearing their seat
belts, compared to 44 percent in urban locations.
Click It or Ticket—Day and Night
• High-visibility seat belt enforcement is important 24 hours a day, but nighttime is
especially deadly for unbuckled occupants. In 2017, 55 percent of passenger vehicle
occupants killed at night (6 p.m.-5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts.
Learn more about the Click It or Ticket mobilization at www.nhtsa. ov/ciot.
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