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'Click it or Ticket' enforcement starts this week

Posted at 8:02 AM, May 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-21 21:20:33-04

WACO, TX — Central Texas police departments are increasing enforcement of seat belt use for the next two weeks as part of Click it or Ticket initiative.

The Texas Department of Transportation kicked off this year's Click it or Ticket campaign this month. The enforcement period started on May 20 and will end on June 2.

Last year, 982 people who were not buckled up died on Texas streets and highways, which is an increase of 6 percent from 2017.

The Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Public Safety are participating in the enforcement period.

According to DPS Sgt. Ryan Howard, if someone is not wearing a seat belt, they can face a fine of $200. The fine can go up to $250, if it involves a child.

"You never know when you are involved in a crash. We operate on roads where there are drunk drivers, distracted drivers, people using cell phones and everything else. You never know when a crash will happen. You have to make sure to take care of yourself and your family and everybody else in the vehicle by wearing a seat belt," Howard said.

Howard said buckling up is not only the law, but it also helps keep people safe.

"If a person is traveling 50 miles per hour and they get in a crash, and they are not wearing a seat belt, the seat belt helps reduce the severity of the crash and save that person's life," Howard said.

Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of dying by 45 percent. That number jumps up to 60 percent for pickup truck crashes.

Seat belt use among pickup truck drivers continues to lag behind passenger vehicles and fewer Texas buckle up at night, which is when the majority of crashes happen.