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Efforts Launched to Save Lives on North Carolina Roadways

28 August 2000

Efforts Launched to Save Lives on North Carolina Roadways

 Officers Pledge to Step up Public Education and Enforcement of Seat Belt And
                         Child Passenger Safety Laws

    RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 28 Law enforcement officers and
highway safety advocates from across the state gathered today in Raleigh to
pledge stepped-up public education and enforcement of the state's seat belt
and child passenger safety laws during this morning's kickoff of the Fall 2000
"Click It or Ticket" campaign.  The campaign will continue through Sept. 17.
    Governor's Highway Safety Program Director Joe Parker announced that the
spring "Click It or Ticket" campaign, the most successful since the program
started in 1993, helped raise seat belt use rates in several key locations.
Significant increases were seen in the Southwest Piedmont region, which
stretches from Richmond County through Mecklenburg County in an arc to Ashe
County.  Richmond County, which formerly held the distinction of the lowest
reported use rate of 65.9 percent, increased to 75.2 percent.  Other counties
in the area average a 3.5 percent increase.
    Other counties with notable increases included Wake County, which went
from 81.6 percent to 87.8 percent, the highest rate in the state, and Durham
County, which jumped from 78.3 percent to 87.7 percent.  The survey followed
the last "Click It or Ticket" campaign, which reported a record-breaking
3,669 checkpoints and patrols, resulting in 20,516 seat belt and 1,605 child
passenger safety violations.
    "I want to make one thing clear: 'Click It or Ticket' isn't just about
writing tickets," Parker said.  "It's about saving lives and preventing
injuries on our roadways.  The result of all this is clearly evident in the
fact that more people are obeying the law and buckling up."
    Col. Richard Holden, commander of the State Highway Patrol, spoke on
behalf of law enforcement leaders statewide.  He warned that officers will
step up their enforcement efforts, and said they'll also be looking for
opportunities to advise motorists about changes in the child passenger safety
law.  Starting December 1, a driver who allows children under age 16 to ride
unrestrained will face two points on his or her license.
    "While we cannot write tickets that carry a two-point violation today, we
can take every opportunity to warn motorists that will be the case as of
Dec. 1," Holden said.  "The time to stop senseless traffic deaths is now.  I
thank all drivers who insist that children ride buckled up, and who serve as
positive role models by always buckling up themselves.  And I urge those who
don't to start right away."
    Capt. Don Weingarten, platoon commander of Raleigh Police Department's
Traffic Unit, explained how they led the state in enforcement activities and
citations during the spring "Click It or Ticket" campaign.
    "There's really no secret to our success here in Raleigh," Weingarten
said.  "We're tough on seat belt and child passenger safety laws because Chief
Mitchell Brown has issued a clear mandate that we do so."
    "When it comes to ticketing highway safety offenders, our message to our
officers is clear:  We tell them to go out, hit the street and get as many as
they can," he said.  "We don't get many complaints from citizens about this,
because they understand the need for aggressive enforcement.  They don't want
to get involved in wrecks or other incidents with motorists who don't take
highway safety as seriously as they do."
    Similar support was referenced in letters from leading law enforcement
organizations, which show that agencies across North Carolina endorse the
enforcement and public education goals of "Click It or Ticket."  Letters were
sent to members by the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, the
North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, the State Highway Patrol, the North
Carolina School Resource Officers Association, and the North Carolina Center
for the Prevention of School Violence.
    Yahjaira Rodriguez, a Raleigh mother of three young children who ride in
child safety seats, encouraged families to attend child passenger safety
clinics to learn more about how to protect children while driving.
    "The people there were so kind and helpful," Rodriguez said.  "They told
me that small children can get hurt in crashes if they use an adult seat belt.
My oldest daughter, who is 7, always rides in her booster seat now."
    The statewide launch of "Click It or Ticket" was to be followed by a
multi-agency seat belt checkpoint and child passenger safety clinic on the 700
block of Person Street.  This will be the first of hundreds of similar
activities that will be conducted daily across North Carolina throughout the
three-week campaign.
    "Click It or Ticket" serves as a national model for seat belt initiatives.
Since it began in 1993, the initiative has increased seat belt use statewide
from 65 to the current high of 82 percent.  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.