May 2020 Click it or Ticket Enforcement Effort

The Atwood Police Department will join other agencies in stepping up seat belt enforcement for the month of May. Even with the recent COVID-19 restrictions, police still anticipate more drivers on the roadways to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. “We want to ensure that everyone traveling on the roads gets to their destination safely,” said Atwood Police Chief Rob Bross.

According to available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, just under 15,000 lives were saved by seat belts in 2017. In the same year, 37,133 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents. 47% of those fatalities were not wearing seat belts.

Drivers and passengers may think they do not need to wear a seat belt because their vehicle has air bags. That could not be further from the truth. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace them. If you don’t wear your seat belt, you could be thrown into a rapidly opening frontal air bag. Such force could injure or even kill you.

We are determined to reduce the number of injuries and deaths on our roadways,” said Chief Bross. “Most of these injuries and deaths could have been prevented if people took the simple step of wearing their seat belt.”

For more information on the NHTSA Click it or Ticket campaign, visit: https://www.nhtsa.gov/seatbelts