May 24, 2010

The "Click It Or Ticket" Campaign is underway. That means more stringent enforcement of the seatbelt law by area police. Local law enforcement be taking part in increased enforcements Monday through June 6.

It takes just a couple of seconds to put on a seatbelt, and yet it's so vital when that accident does happen in saving lives. In fact, statistics show that unbelted drivers and passengers account for eighty percent of fatalities.

Drivers, passengers and children who are wearing a seatbelt have a 50 percent better chance of surviving a crash than unbelted occupants, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. People ejected from vehicles are up to 35 times more likely to die than those belted in.

Albemarle County Police Officer Randy Jamerson is more than happy to be on the road patrolling for unbelted drivers. He says he writes around five traffic tickets for the offense everyday.

However, potential changes at the state level could help keep drivers safer. Right now, failure to wear a seatbelt is a secondary offense, meaning an officer cannot legally pull someone over solely for that purpose. Officer Jamerson hopes lawmakers change the law to a primary offense, so that he'll be able to save more lives by being able to pull everyone over who's not wearing a seatbelt.