Maryland Law Enforcement Joins Nationwide `Click It or Ticket' Initiative to Save Lives

     Law Enforcement Launches Statewide Effort with Brand New Partner

   What:     Kickoff of the statewide "Click It or Ticket" campaign by
             Maryland law enforcement officials, Maryland State Highway
             Administration's Highway Safety Office, MD Committee For Safety
             Belt Use, and Maryland Motor Truck Association - Nighttime seat
             belt enforcement to be conducted in each of Maryland's 23
             Counties and Baltimore City.

   Who:      State Highway Administrator Neil J. Pedersen
             Mt. Rainier Police Chief Colonel H. Frederick Keeney,
              President, MD Chiefs of Police Association
             Lieutenant Colonel Michael S. Fischer, Maryland State Police
             Dr. Elizabeth A. Baker, Regional Administrator, National
              Highway Traffic Safety Administration
             Anne S. Ferro, President, Maryland Motor Truck Association
             Law Enforcement officials representing Maryland's 125
              participating agencies

   When:     Monday, May 23, 2005 at 11:00 a.m.

   Where:    The ESPN Zone at 601 East Pratt Street - Baltimore, Maryland

  

One hundred and fifty-three Maryland law enforcement agencies will join more than 12,000 allied agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in a nationwide enforcement initiative to increase seat belt use starting this week. During "Click It or Ticket," officers in Maryland will conduct more than 100 checkpoints and seat belt enforcement zones to stop and ticket drivers who violate seat belt and child passenger safety laws. In Maryland, in 2003, 70% of vehicle occupants killed in nighttime crashes were not wearing safety belts at the time of the crash; therefore, a special emphasis will be placed on enforcing Maryland's laws at night. In addition to the nighttime enforcement zones conducted just prior to the heavily-traveled Memorial Day weekend, education will be conducted with an emphasis on pickup trucks, whose drivers and occupants buckle up less than those in other vehicles. Members of the Maryland Motor Truck Association are joining the partnership by placing reflective "Click It or Ticket" stickers on their vehicles.

"Click It or Ticket" is part of a national Mobilization campaign, this year involving hundreds of thousands of officers throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. In Maryland, the campaign coordinators are MD Chiefs of Police Association, MD Committee For Safety Belt Use, and MD State Highway Administration's Highway Safety Office.