(Undated)– A number of local law enforcement agencies are participating in a special “Click It Or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement campaign now through June 1st.
While you might think there are no longer that many people who don’t wear seatbelts, statistics say otherwise. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, 62 percent of all night-time traffic fatality victims between 2005 and 2007 were unbelted.
Officials say young men are the less likely to buckle up. Officials say in 2006, 73 percent of male passengers between 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes were NOT wearing seatbelts.
Even scarier, according to the DPS, is the fact that in 2006 64 percent of teenage passengers killed in fatal accidents weren’t wearing seatbelts. And, officials say, the 2006 observed seat belt usage rate of those 16 to 24 was lower than any other age group.
While Iowa’s overall seat belt usage rate is 91 percent, officials say there are still 180,000 drivers and 70,000 front-seat passengers who aren’t buckling up.
