FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2010
Contact: Doug Adolph
281-275-2724
'Click It or Ticket' Mobilization to Boost Safety Belt Use and Save Lives
Sugar Land, TX -Sugar Land police are joining state and local law enforcement agencies during May 24 to June 6 for an aggressive "Click It or Ticket" mobilization to crack down on safety belt violations and reduce highway fatalities.
Locally, SLPD will focus on the following intersections: U.S. Highway
59 at Highway 6, Sweetwater Boulevard at Palm Royale Boulevard, Country Club Boulevard at Sugar Creek Boulevard, First Colony Boulevard at Colony Lakes Drive, West Airport Boulevard at Eldridge Road, Lexington Boulevard at Colonist Park Drive and Highway 6 at Kensington Boulevard.
The enforcement will also focus on U.S. Highway 59, State Highway 6, U.S. Highway 90A and other areas in the City.
Transportation officials say state laws enacted in 2009 could result in more citations this year if drivers and passengers fail to heed new safety belt requirements.
For the first time, all passengers in the back seat now must be buckled up, and children younger than 8 years old have to ride in a child safety seat or booster seat unless they are taller than 4 feet 9 inches.
Drivers with children in the vehicle will be cited if their young passengers are not properly secured. Fines range from $25 to $250 plus court costs.
According to the Texas Transportation Institute, motorists least likely to buckle up continue to include men, teen boys and pickup drivers and passengers.
"Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes," said Sgt.
Wayne Coleman, of the SLPD Traffic Division. "When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent - and by 60 percent - in pickup trucks, SUVs and mini-vans."
The enforcement crackdown is funded by a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program grant from the Texas Department of Transportation in the amount of $8,000. The money will be used to pay for overtime to put additional officers on the street.
