Connecticut law enforcement has joined a nationwide effort to encourage motorists to wear their seatbelts. The well-established “Click it or Ticket” campaign will be in full force from now until June 1 and could result in an expensive fine for Connecticut motorists who are caught unbuckled.

The campaign was planned strategically around the Memorial Day weekend holiday and the beginning of summer, which tends to be the busiest driving season of the year for Americans. 

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, slightly over half of the more than 22,000 people who were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2011 were not wearing seatbelts.

Other federal data from the NHTSA shows that car accident fatalities involving unbuckled vehicle occupants appear to be more common during the night than during the day. However, in Connecticut, 27 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants were killed at night while 38 were killed during the day in 2011.

For these reasons, law enforcement officers in New Haven and the rest of the state hope to persuade motor vehicle occupants to buckle up at all times of the day and night to reduce the chance of being killed in an accident.

In addition to looking for drivers who are not wearing their seat belts, the extra Connecticut patrols on the roads will also be cracking down on impaired drivers, according to a state Department of Transportation press release.

Hopefully with the added enforcement in coming weeks, many serious car accidents can be prevented so that Connecticut residents can kick off the summer months safely and happily.

Source: The Day, “Local and state police to launch ‘Click It or Ticket’ for upcoming holiday,” May 15, 2014