By Staff
At the end of its most recent Click it or Ticket campaign, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office had issued 154 tickets to people not wearing their seatbelts. For those 154 drivers, it may have been an expensive lesson, but one worth learning.
The end of this period of increased law enforcement should not be seen as a ticket to go seat belt-free. Alabama law allows law enforcement officers to issue tickets to people who don't buckle up, even if there's no other offense.
One way to measure the success of Click-it or Ticket is by the number of people who developed a habit of buckling up over the last few weeks to avoid receiving a ticket.
According to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), more than half of the people who die in car and truck accidents are not wearing seat belts. ADECA also estimates that more than 20 percent of Alabamians do not wear their seat belts, putting themselves at risk of death or injury every time they get in the car.
Nationally, teens are at especially high risk of injury or death from traffic accidents, so it's important to teach teenagers to buckle up when they drive or ride.
In fact, for all of us it's a step that costs us nothing, but could save a lot.