NEWINGTON — The Connecticut Department of Transportation Office of Highway Safety, together with both the Connecticut State Police and local law enforcement, is joining a national effort to keep motorists safe leading up to and during the Memorial Day holiday. The Click It or Ticket national seat belt campaign, aimed at enforcing seat belt use, began May 17 and runs through June 6, 2021.

“Buckling up saves lives,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti. “During the Click It or Ticket campaign, we’ll be working to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing to do to limit injury or save a life during a crash.”

Law enforcement officials will be out on Connecticut’s roads enforcing the state occupant protection laws and issuing citations to those who are unbuckled. Click It or Ticket is not about citations; it is about saving lives. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA), in 2019, there were 9,466 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 pm to 5:59 am) were not wearing their seat belts. That is why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement.

Among young adults (18 to 34) killed while riding in passenger vehicles in 2019, 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 2019, 65% of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed were men. Men also wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do — 51% of men killed in crashes were unrestrained, compared to 40% of women killed in crashes.

“In 2020, I am saddened to say, 104 Connecticut residents lost their lives because they did not buckle their seat belt,” added Giulietti. “If you have a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to consider changing their habits. Seat belts save lives, and everyone, front seat and back, child and adult, needs to remember to buckle up.”

Connecticut law requires all drivers and passengers in the front seat, regardless of the occupant’s age, as well as all children under 16 in all positions to wear seat belts. Fines start at a minimum of $92 for a first offense.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, visit portal.ct.gov/dot/programs/click-it-or-ticket.