VCU Police operate "Click It or Ticket" campaign

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Virginia Commonwealth University Police are participating in a “Click It or Ticket” campaign to increase seatbelt usage. The effort is designed to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities by persuading drivers and passengers to buckle up every time they get into a vehicle.

Police will operate the campaign from Sunday, Nov. 14, until Sunday, Nov. 21, along streets that run through and near VCU’s Monroe Park and MCV campuses.

The campaign is funded through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and Smart, Safe and Sober, a statewide partnership aimed at reducing traffic fatalities.

Officers will also operate radar and participate in saturated traffic patrols to enforce other traffic codes as they check for seatbelt use.

Cpl. Jonathan Siok is once again coordinating the “Click It or Ticket” campaign. In August, Smart, Safe and Sober presented Siok with the 2010 “Click It or Ticket Leadership Award” for his role in coordinating VCU’s spring campaign. The VCU Police Department also was given awards for highest seatbelt usage and most improved seatbelt usage.

Figures from the Virginia Highway Safety Office at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles show there were 756 traffic-related fatalities in Virginia in 2009 and in 333 of those fatalities no safety restraint was used.

According to Virginia Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) information, death rates are eight times higher and hospitalizations are twice as likely when occupants are not using seat belts or child safety restraints.