Texas-Sized Reminder Launches Click It or Ticket Campaign; World's Largest Safety Belt Draws Attention to Annual Safety Effort

AUSTIN, Texas--May 10, 2006--State and local law enforcement officials launched the 2006 Click It or Ticket education and enforcement campaign today by fastening the world's longest seat belt around the Texas State Capitol's southern facade.

Safety advocates used the Texas-sized belt to announce the annual crackdown on drivers and passengers who don't buckle up. Thanks to four straight years of Click It or Ticket campaigns, speakers acknowledged that almost 90 percent of Texas motorists now routinely use safety belts, and they promised citations to those who fail to comply with the state's mandatory law to buckle up. Law enforcement officers wrote 52,404 safety belt and child safety citations -- an average of 2,096 per day -- during last year's campaign.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) are again teaming up with thousands of law enforcement personnel statewide to boost safety belt use in Texas. This year's enforcement campaign begins Monday, May 22, 2006 -- a week before Memorial Day -- and extends through Sunday, June 4.

"Improving safety for drivers and passengers on Texas roads is one of my top priorities, so I am proud to support the innovative efforts of the Texas Department of Transportation," said Texas State Representative Tony Goolsby. "Click It or Ticket saves lives. It's that simple."

The Texas safety belt law, enacted in 1985, requires drivers, front seat passengers and children under 17, whether riding in the front or back seat, to be buckled up. Also, children under the age of five and less than 36 inches tall must ride in child safety seats. Adults who don't use safety belts or fail to secure their children face fines from $25 to $200, plus court costs.

Though safety belt use in Texas has increased from 76 percent to nearly 90 percent since the Click It or Ticket effort began in 2002, highway safety officials caution that there is still much to be done. Six out of every ten children between five and nine years old still ride in vehicles without the protection of safety belts. Teen drivers use belts only half as frequently as adults. Pickup truck drivers and their passengers also are less likely to use safety belts than other motorists.