Thankful for seat belt safety

Make sure to Click it. Or ticket. this holiday season

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest seasons for America’s roads. With millions of drivers traveling near and far for Thanksgiving dinner, it’s more important than ever to stress the importance of seat belt safety. To keep drivers and their passengers safe, the Kansas Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies across the state are working around the clock to ensure Thanksgiving travelers are wearing their seat belts.

The high-visibility “Click it. Or ticket.” campaign aims to reduce the number of fatalities that occur when vehicle passengers fail to buckle up. In 2018 in Kansas, 127 unrestrained people died in motor vehicle crashes. Many of these deaths could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt. In Kansas, pick-up truck drivers and drivers in rural areas are among the top unrestrained fatalities.

With thousands of Kansans traveling to visit friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday, law enforcement across Kansas will have an increased effort during this high travel week. The high-visibility crackdown will run from Nov. 22 through the holiday weekend. If they spot you, they will pull you over and issue a citation.

“It’s our greatest hope that our community members make it to their Thanksgiving destinations safely,” said Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz. “Our goal is 100% compliance every trip, every time. Help us and your communities drive to zero fatalities on Kansas roadways this holiday season.”

The “Click it. Or ticket.” campaign is funded by a federal grant administered by KDOT. The crackdown runs concurrently with a media campaign reminding motorists that wearing your seatbelt is the law, even in the backseat. And, it's your best defense in a crash. So, please drive responsibly and ride safely. For more information about traveling safely this Thanksgiving, please visit KTSRO.org for more information. 

For continuously updated road conditions check www.kandrive.org 

Click It. Or Ticket. Law enforcement on the lookout for unrestrained drivers, passengers

TOPEKA, Kan. — Law enforcement agencies across Kansas will be taking a no-excuses approach to saving lives around this Memorial Day weekend. Tickets will be issued to unbuckled occupants as a harsh reminder of the importance of seat belt use at all times.

More than 50 percent of traffic fatalities in Kansas in 2017 were unrestrained. Many of these individuals could have survived the car crash if they had only worn their seat belt. That’s why law enforcement across the state is stepping up enforcement with the Click It. Or Ticket. campaign that runs May 20 through June 2.

“The Click it. Or ticket. campaign isn’t about issuing citations, it’s about saving lives,” said Technical Trooper Ben Gardner, of the Kansas Highway Patrol “Too many people die in motor vehicle crashes who could have survived if they had only buckled up.”

It is prohibited to drive or ride as a passenger in a motor vehicle without wearing a seat belt for a good reason. In 2017, 53 percent of the 316 deaths from automobile crashes in Kansas were not buckled. Pick-up truck drivers, young adults and males are among some of the worst offenders and most at-risk.

“Frustratingly, there are still people out there who do not take that extra second to buckle up,” said Chris Bortz, KDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager. “Any adult not wearing their seat belt could be issued a $30 traffic citation. Make a better decision and buckle up, every trip, every time.”

In 2018, the Kansas observed seat belt usage was 84 percent, below the national average of 90 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Education coupled with enforcement can raise this rate and ultimately save lives.

Kansas aims to save lives with “Click it. Or Ticket.” enforcement

Kansas ranks towards the bottom one-third in seat belt usage among all 50 states. State and local law enforcement are working to improve this ranking by stepping up enforcement to crack down on motorists who aren’t wearing their seat belts as part of the Click it. Or ticket. seat belt enforcement campaign.

More than 150 law enforcement agencies across Kansas will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt enforcement as part of the national campaign that runs from May 21 through June 3, concurrent with one of the busiest travel and holiday weekends of the year.

“The Click it. Or ticket. campaign is about saving lives. We would be grateful if every occupant we observed was wearing their seat belt” said Ben Gardner, Kansas Highway Patrol Technical Trooper. “Our increased enforcement around Memorial Day serves as a reminder that wearing a seat belt is the easiest thing you can do to save your life.”

In 2017, nearly half of the 359 deaths from crashes in Kansas were not buckled. Young adults are dying at disproportionate rates because they are not wearing their seat belts in Kansas. In Kansas, 56 percent of 18-to-34-year old occupants killed in crashes were not wearing their seat belts in 2017. Male pick-up truck drivers between the ages of 21-34, and drivers in rural areas are among the top unrestrained fatalities.

“Seat belts save lives every day. But they only save lives when they are used and there are still many people in Kansas who don’t buckle up,” said Chris Bortz, KDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager. “Our goal is 100 percent compliance. It doesn’t matter where you go, drivers need to buckle up for every ride, every time because a deadly crash can happen to anyone.”

In 2017, Kansas seat belt usage was 82 percent, below the national average of 90.1 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. From 2014 to 2016, seat belts saved nearly 41,500 lives across the country.

“Click it. Or ticket.” campaign seeks to stop preventable traffic deaths

WICHITA, Kan. – As summer kicks off and families hit the road for vacations, Kansas Department of Transportation officials and law enforcement agencies across the state are reminding motorists to Click it. Or ticket.  The statewide seat belt enforcement crackdown runs from May 22 through June 4, concurrent with one of the busiest travel and holiday weekends of the year. More than 150 law enforcement agencies across the state will be on the lookout day and night.

“This effort starts with you,” said Chris Bortz, KDOT Traffic Safety Program Manager. “It’s your responsibility to make sure every passenger is buckled up. On the drive to zero fatalities, you are in the driver’s seat.”

Officials from KDOT, the Kansas Turnpike Authority, and the Kansas Highway Patrol detailed the 2017 campaign at a news conference at the Towanda Service Area, off I-35 near Wichita.  Featured speaker, Vonnie Rickerson, of Fort Scott, shared her personal story of seeing seat belts save lives, and seeing crashes take lives away.

“When I was eight years old, our school bus passed beside a wreck,” Rickerson said.  “I’ll never forget the crashed vehicle I saw from my window seat.  The driver was not wearing a seat belt. The impact of the crash caused the driver to fly forward, hitting the steering wheel and dislodging her heart. She died instantly. The driver of the vehicle was my mom.”

Rickerson shed tears as she continued. It was July 2016 when she drove up to another, all-too-familiar crash scene. This time, her 15-year-old daughter and her daughter’s friend were inside the mangled car.

“I can't express all of the emotions I felt as I drove through the horrific scene of the crash, then seeing a crumpled car that I didn't think anybody could walk away from,” she said.  “I was sure we had lost our babies.”

After hitting a tree, the car rolled twice and flipped end to end.  When it finally came to rest, it was unrecognizable. Her daughter Hallie was unresponsive and was taken by helicopter to the hospital an hour away. But this time, both teens were wearing seat belts. And just two weeks later, they were back to living their lives.  

“I believe with all my heart that seat belts saved the lives of my daughter and her friend that day,” Rickerson said. “And I believe if my mom had been wearing a seat belt the day of her wreck, she may have lived as well.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of the 22,441 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2015 were unrestrained. At night (from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.), that number soared to 57 percent of those killed. During the Click It. Or Ticket campaign, law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

In Kansas, 127 of those who died in passenger vehicle crashes were not using a seat belt. Nationally, almost twice as many males were killed in crashes compared to females. Of the males killed in crashes in 2015, 52 percent were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 42 percent were not buckled up.

“We want travelers to do the one thing that gives them the best chance of surviving a serious crash: buckling up,” said Jason Weber, KTA Roadway Operations Manager. “If this enforcement campaign makes more people aware of the dangers of unrestrained driving and they begin to buckle up, we’ll consider it a success.”

“Many of us know someone who was killed in a crash because they did not buckle up,” said Technical Trooper Ben Gardner, Kansas Highway Patrol.  “Please, help us spread this life-saving message before one more friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. Seat belts save lives, and everyone – front seat and back, child and adult – needs to remember to buckle up, every trip, every time.”