May 11, 2009

VCU Police participate in national “Click It or Ticket Campaign” to boost seatbelt usage

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By Mike Porter

Cpl. Jonathan Siok plants a “Click It or Ticket” sign into the ground at the edge of the Monroe Park Campus. Additional publicity is being posted near the medical campus. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations.
Cpl. Jonathan Siok plants a “Click It or Ticket” sign into the ground at the edge of the Monroe Park Campus. Additional publicity is being posted near the medical campus. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations.

Virginia Commonwealth University Police have joined hundreds of law enforcement agencies across Virginia and the nation for the “Click it or Ticket” campaign to increase seat belt usage. The effort is designed to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities by convincing drivers and passengers to buckle up every time they get into a vehicle.

Preliminary figures released by the Virginia Highway Safety Office at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles indicate there were 612 traffic-related fatalities in Virginia in 2008 involving vehicles equipped with safety restraints. In more than half of those fatalities, the victim was not wearing a safety restraint. 

Better buckle up! VCU Police kicked off the promotional phase of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign by hanging banners, posting signs and adding vehicle magnets to boost awareness. First row: Officer Doug Dawson (left) and Cpl. Rebecca Ellison (right) and second row (from left) Sgt. Nicole Dailey, Cpl. Marvin Wingo and Cpl. Jonathan Siok. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations.
Better buckle up! VCU Police kicked off the promotional phase of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign by hanging banners, posting signs and adding vehicle magnets to boost awareness. First row: Officer Doug Dawson (left) and Cpl. Rebecca Ellison (right) and second row (from left) Sgt. Nicole Dailey, Cpl. Marvin Wingo and Cpl. Jonathan Siok. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations.

"There are still too many people dying or being injured as a result of not buckling up,” said VCU Police Cpl. Jonathan Siok.  “That’s why in May and throughout the year, we are increasing enforcement to continue to impress upon citizens that seat belt use is a ‘must’ when getting into any vehicle,” Siok said.

Statistics show men, especially those between 18 and 34 years old, are less likely to buckle up.  In 2008, 61 percent of male drivers and 69 percent of male passengers between the ages of 18 and 34 who died in Virginia crashes were not wearing their seat belts at the time.

VCU Police are running the “Click It or Ticket” campaign in two phases.  An awareness component kicked off on May 11, with police hanging banners and posting signs around the Monroe Park and MCV campuses to boost public awareness about the campaign.  The enforcement phase takes place between May 18 and 31 and includes checkpoints and other stepped-up enforcement activities. 

Campus vehicles will also be part of the publicity campaign. Here, Cpl. Marvin Wingo puts a sign on the back of a security escort service van. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations.
Campus vehicles will also be part of the publicity campaign. Here, Cpl. Marvin Wingo puts a sign on the back of a security escort service van. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations.

“We are going to make sure that motorists are obeying all traffic laws in Virginia, with a particular emphasis being placed on lack of seat belt and child safety seat use,” said VCU Police Cpl. Edgar L. Greer.

Virginia law states that law enforcement can cite anyone driving a vehicle in which an occupant through age 15 is not wearing a seat belt or is not properly restrained in a child safety seat. The law also provides that drivers stopped for other violations can be cited if they are not buckled up. This also applies to all front-seat passengers 16 years and older.