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'Click It or Ticket' Nets 5,190 Occupant Restraint Charges

14 September 2000

'Click It or Ticket' Nets 5,190 Occupant Restraint Charges From Sept. 4-10; Law Enforcement Well on the Way to Exceeding Goal Of 2,000 Checkpoints And Patrols During Fall Campaign

    RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 13 After pledging to conduct more
than 2,000 checkpoints and patrols during the fall "Click It or Ticket"
campaign, North Carolina law enforcement is proving that they are well on the
way to exceeding their goal.
    From September 4-10, the second week of the campaign, officers statewide
conducted 871 law enforcement activities in support of North Carolina's seat
belt and child passenger safety initiative, which will continue through
September 17.  As a result of these activities, law enforcement wrote 4,759
seat belt and 431 child passenger safety violations.  The numbers were
reported by law enforcement agencies in each county and compiled by the North
Carolina State Highway Patrol.
    "The number of checkpoints and patrols that have been conducted on behalf
of 'Click It or Ticket,' both during this campaign and the previous one in
May, far exceeds that of any other year since the campaign began in 1993,"
said Joe Parker, director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program.  "North
Carolina law enforcement continually prove they are more serious than ever
about occupant protection, and I commend them on their dedication and hard
work."
    Besides cracking down on seat belt and child passenger safety violators,
officers last week charged 809 with driving while impaired (DWI). They
discovered a total of 24,174 violations, including 183 drug charges, 16 stolen
vehicles, and eight fugitives from justice.
    The goal of "Click It or Ticket" is to boost seat belt use in North
Carolina, saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing the massive health-
care costs associated with traffic crashes.  In addition to ticketing
unbuckled drivers, officers are paying particular attention to unrestrained
children.  All children up to age 16 must be buckled up no matter where they
ride in the vehicle.  Children under age 5 and weighing less than 40 pounds
must ride in a child passenger safety seat -- in the back seat, if the vehicle
has an active passenger-side airbag.  Beginning December 1, anyone who fails
to adhere to these laws will get two points on his or her driver's license.

                               Statewide Totals

                       DWI       Occupant Restraint        Traffic Violations
                      Driving                  Child
                      While                  Passenger                Total
       Total         Impaired    Seat Belt     Safety                 Traffic
     Checkpoints    Violations   Violations  Violations   Speeding  Violations
      and Patrols

         819            765         4,331        402         6,665     20,189
    (Aug. 28-Sept. 3)
         871            809         4,759        431         7,761     23,114
    (Sept. 4-10)


                         Criminal Violations
                                                                   Other
    Misdemeanor   Felony                    Stolen                Criminal
       Drug       Drug         Firearm     Vehicles   Fugitives   Violations
    Violations   Violations  Violations   Recovered   Arrested   Not Listed

       189          49            10          14          1          748

       132          51            18          16          8          835

                    Total
     Total        Traffic &
   Criminal       Criminal
   Violations    Violations

      996          21,185

      1,060        24,174

    For county-by-county "Click It or Ticket" numbers, contact Jill Warren
Lucas or Erica Hinton at the GHSP, 919-733-3083. Inquiries also may be made
via E-mail to the addresses above. For more information about "Click It or
Ticket" or other North Carolina highway safety issues, visit our Web site at:
http://www.dot.state.nc.us/services/ghsp .