Southeast States to Model North Carolina's 'Click It or Ticket'

   Long Hailed as a 'National Model,' the Buckle-Up Campaign Will Unite Law
                         Enforcement in Eight States

    What:        Statewide Launch of Spring 'Click It or Ticket' Campaign
    When:        11 a.m. Monday, May 14, and 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 22
    Where:       May 14 - Children's Garden, Raleigh
                 May 22 - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Charlotte

    RALEIGH, N.C., May 11 North Carolina's "Click It or
Ticket" initiative is the model for a regional high visibility enforcement and
public education campaign to get drivers throughout the Southeast to buckle
up.

    North Carolina will launch its spring campaign at 11 a.m. Monday, May 14,
with a statewide kickoff in the Children's Garden, located at the corner of
Lane and Wilmington streets in downtown Raleigh. Speakers will include
Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett, Col. Richard Holden, commander of the
State Highway Patrol, and Paul Jones, director of North Carolina SAFE
KIDS/Buckle Up.  The campaign, which features stepped-up enforcement of North
Carolina's seat belt and child passenger safety laws, will continue through
June 3.

    The kickoff will be followed by a multi-agency seat belt checkpoint and
child passenger safety clinic near the pool at Pullen Park on Ashe Avenue off
Western Blvd.  This will be the first of hundreds of similar activities that
will be conducted daily across North Carolina throughout the three-week
campaign.

    A second "Click It or Ticket" event will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May
22, at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 East Fourth Street, in
Charlotte.  A checkpoint and clinic will follow on North Caldwell Street
between 6th and 8th streets.

    These activities will follow the May 21 regional launch of the eight-state
"Click It or Ticket" initiative in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.  Those states will conduct two-week
campaigns.

    Speaking at the Charlotte event will be Chuck Hurley of the National
Safety Council and Maury Hannigan, commissioner emeritus of the California
Highway Patrol.  Also scheduled to speak are Col. Holden, Col. Ralph Mobley of
South Carolina Highway Patrol, and Lt. Col. Johnny Grimes of the Georgia State
Patrol.  The three colonels will travel to other "Click It" events to follow
in Columbia, SC, and Atlanta, Ga.

    Since "Click It or Ticket" began in 1993, North Carolina's seat belt use
rate has jumped from 65 percent to the current high of 81 percent, which is
well above the national average.  As a result, fatal and serious injuries have
declined by 14 percent, and more than $135 million has been saved in health
care-related costs.

                    Spring "Click It or Ticket" Media Tour

    Deputy Director Bill Stout or other GHSP officials will be available at
all listed events. To learn more about other "Click It or Ticket" activities,
contact law enforcement agencies in your area.

    * Monday, May 14
    Raleigh: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
    Ashe Avenue at Pullen Park
    Contact: Sgt. M. P. Alexander, 919-890-3335

    Fayetteville: 4-5 p.m.
    Legion Road at J.P. Reynolds Stadium
    Contact: Sgt. J.D. Aikens, 910-486-1334

    * Tuesday, May 15
    Wilmington: 10-11 a.m.
    Hwy. 421 South at Wilmington city limit
    Contact: Sgt. Greg Lockamy, 910-341-4286

    Jacksonville: 4-5 p.m.
    Henderson Road extension off Gum Branch Road
    Contact: Sgt. Paul Harrington, 910-455-4000

    * Wednesday, May 16
    Kinston: 10-11 a.m.
    Hwy. 11 North at city limit
    Contact: Sgt. Ronnie Sutton, 252-939-3164

    Greenville: 4-5 p.m.
    Intersection of East 5th and Breech streets
    Contact: Cpl. Phil Worthington, 252-329-4597

    * Thursday, May 17
    Roanoke Rapids: 10-11 a.m.
    Julian Allsbrook Highway at Chaloner Drive
    Contact: Chief Ernest Bobbitt, 252-533-2810

    * Tuesday, May 22
    Charlotte: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
    North Caldwell Street between 6th and 8th streets
    Contact: Sgt. Ricky Robbins, 704-336-4197

    * Wednesday, May 23
    Lincolnton: 10-11 a.m.
    South General's Blvd.
    Contact: Lt. Kenny Shrum, 704-736-8900

    Albemarle: 4-5 p.m.
    NE Connector off Hwy. 52 North
    Contact: Sgt. Kent Myers, 704-986-3733

    * Thursday, May 24
    Archdale: 10-11 a.m.
    Hwy 311 at county line
    Contact: Sgt. Shannon Craddock, 336-434-3134

    Salisbury: 4-5 p.m.
    Hwy. 29 in Spencer
    Contact: Deputy David Earnhart, 704-636-1011

    * Friday, May 25
    Rockingham: 10-11 a.m.
    Long Drive near Perdue Farms
    Contact: Maj. Gerald Sellars, 910-582-2551

    * Tuesday, May 29
    Asheville: 10-11 a.m.
    Caribou Road near Loustar Factory
    Contact: Ofc. Keith McCulloch, 828-259-5870

    Morganton: 4-5 p.m.
    W. Fleming Drive at Morganton city limit
    Contact: Maj. David Ferber, 828-432-2680

    * Wednesday, May 30
    Lenoir: 10-11 a.m.
    TBA
    Contact: Capt. Tim Marley, 828-754-1518

    Hickory: 4-5 p.m.
    Startown Road at Startown Elementary
    Contact: Sgt. Greg Shook, 828-324-2060

    * Thursday, May 31
    Winston-Salem: 10-11 a.m.
    University Parkway at US 52 ramp
    Contact: Lt. Steve Newsome, 336-773-7846

    Burlington: 3-4 p.m.
    South Church Street (Hwy. 70) at
    Rosewood Shopping Center
    Contact: Ofc. John Villanova, 336-584-1301

    * Friday, June 1
    Durham: 10-11 a.m.
    University Drive and Forest Hills Blvd. at Forest Hills Park
    Contact: Sgt. Jody Piatt, 919-560-4314