Motorists who refuse to wear their seat belts – beware.  Indiana State Police announced that Indiana’s 2012 Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign will begin Friday, May 18. 

This national mobilization will take place over the Memorial Day holiday period and is supported by thousands of law enforcement agencies and traffic safety advocates across the country.  In Indiana, more than 250 law enforcement agencies will conduct special patrols – day and night, to identify and ticket unrestrained drivers and passengers.  The effort will conclude on June 3.

Click It or Ticket has been credited with increasing Indiana’s seat belt usage rate from 63 percent in 1995 to an observed usage rate of 93 percent in 2011. Last year in Indiana, there were 3,322 crashes involving unrestrained drivers/occupants and 202 fatalities.  Wearing your seat belt increases your chances of surviving a crash by more than 50 percent.

Motorists should be prepared to see more law enforcement on the roads during this 15-day period. Special patrols will take place around the clock, and if law enforcement finds you on the road unbuckled at any time, you can expect to get a ticket.  No excuses and no exceptions.

“Click It or Ticket” is an annual enforcement effort that is supported by federal Highway Safety funding awarded to more than 250 state and local law enforcement agencies from ICJI’s Traffic Safety division.  Indiana’s enforcement mobilization is reinforced by paid, statewide advertising combined with targeted public outreach efforts aimed at comprehensively promoting the life-saving benefits of regular seat belt use to all motorists.