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E-mail This StoryThe Rowlett Police Department has released the results of its holiday enforcement of the safety belt and child safety seat laws funded through grants from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
Rowlett police officers assigned to the Click It or Ticket and Memorial Day Wave initiatives issued 223 safety belt citations, three child safety seat citations, and 374 speeding citations.
Pre and post surveys show that the seat belt compliance rate increased from 95 percent to 96.4 percent and speed compliance decreased from 15.1percent to 14.6 percent.
Lt. Steve Ferrie of the Rowlett Police Department said, “Although the Click It or Ticket grant period is over, officers will continue to issue citations for these violations. We hope that our community members will continue to assist us in our efforts by buckling up and watching their speed. Please buckle up and drive safely.”
Research shows that failing to be secured by a safety belt and speeding contribute to numerous unnecessary fatality accidents each year. Being properly secured by a safety belt is the single most effective action a driver or passenger can take to reduce death in a motor vehicle crash and can reduce the risk of death to front seat occupants by 45 percent in a car and 60 percent in a light truck, SUV, and minivan.
According to TxDOT, Texans are using their safety belts more than ever before. Based on statewide surveys completed by the Texas Transportation Institute, a record high 91.83 percent of Texans buckled up in 2007 compared to the 90.44 during 2006.
Before Click It or Ticket enforcement and public education efforts began in Texas in 2002, only 76.1 percent of Texans buckled up.
The current 91.83 percent safety belt usage translates into an estimated 1,600 fewer Texans killed in traffic crashes and an estimated 37,600 fewer injuries on Texas roadways since Click It or Ticket began.
Since 2001, the use of safety belts in Texas has saved the state an estimated $6.66 billion in wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, motor vehicle damage, employer costs, taxes, insurance premiums, travel delays, and a measure of the value of lost quality of life.
The mandatory safety belt law requires the driver and front seat passengers to be buckled up, and children younger than 5 years of age and less than 36 inches in height to be in an approved child safety seat.
It also requires passengers younger than 17 years of age and who are not required to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system, to be secured by a safety belt regardless of their seating position.
In addition, drivers or passengers who have a shoulder harness placed under their arm or behind their back are not properly secured by a safety belt and can be issued a citation for not wearing their safety belt because they are not properly secured in the manner in which the safety belt was designed to be used.
