Port Police Remind Drivers, Riders to 'Click It'

With the holiday weekend now here, many people are likely heading out into long lines of traffic to whichever destination.

When hitting the road, the Port Washington Police Department reminds you to make sure you remember your seatbelts.

The department is participating in a nationwide program known as "Click it or Ticket," sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 

"During the next two weeks, May 24 through June 5, agencies across the state will be asking its officers to place an increased emphasis on stopping and issuing citations to drivers that are not wearing safety belts," Port Washington Police Department Lt. Eric Leet said in an e-mail. "What will make the program different this year, however, is that ... seat belt violations are now a primary stop violation.

"This means that officers can stop a vehicle only for the seat belt violation, whereas in past years ... they needed another violation to stop the vehicle."

Traffic surveys provided by NHTSA show seatbelt use in Wisconsin behind the national average: in 2010, this state had a 79.2 percent usage rate.  The national average in the United States was 85 percent. 

Michigan's seatbelt use was surveyed at 95.2 percent while Indiana was at 92.4 percent and Minnesota's rate was at 92.3 percent, according to the NHTSA. Even Illinois had a 92.6 percent seatbelt use rate.   

"This issue is an important one for us in law enforcement," Leet said. "We see the increased severity of the injuries and even deaths that could have been prevented simply by wearing seatbelts. Traffic accidents and their aftermath account for a good percentage of our workload, and we would like to do what we can to ensure that those accidents are as minor as possible. Seatbelt use is a primary part of that."

The police department is participating in the program through June 5, so be sure to click it, or get a ticket.