BUCKLE UP: Click It or Ticket campaign kicks off

In 2020, there were 1,073 fatal vehicle crashes in Texas which resulted from occupants not wearing their seatbelts, a 16% increase from 2019. These were the statistics given by the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Behavioral Traffic Safety Specialist, Irene Webster to start off their annual Click It or Ticket safety belt campaign which will run from May 24 to June 6. A virtual media event for the campaign was held May 24 at 10:00 a.m. and included several speakers from Cass County and other areas that illustrated the importance of wearing a seat belt.

“It’s hit close to home for everybody. We’ve all had friends, relatives, or acquaintances that have been affected by this,” Atlanta District Engineer, Buddy Williams, said.

Statistics for the Atlanta District provided by Director of Transportation Operations, Rebecca Wells, shows that while the number of drivers on the road has decreased in the last year, the number of fatalities have increased. In 2020, there were 119 fatalities, 35 of which resulted from occupants not wearing a seat belt and already in 2021, there have been 48 fatalities and 15 of those were the result of not wearing a seat belt. According to Wells, that’s already more than half of what has been recorded in previous years. “We’re not even halfway through the year and the numbers are heading to be way more than what we’ve had in the past yet again,” she said. That’s why Well’s encourages everyone to stay safe and wear their seat belt. “Teach our kids, teach their friends, teach everyone that we’re around to always buckle up. All the time. Everywhere. No matter what the roadway is,” she said.

Part of the process to ensuring the safety of Texas Drivers is the implementation of the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). Police Traffic Services Program Manager for TxDOT, Larry Krantz, has been working with the program since 2014. The program has taken steps to move away from the performative measure of issuing citations. In the past, law enforcement agencies would write citations as quickly and as often as they could, but in the last few years, Krantz explains, they use data to put the presence of law enforcement agencies in an area where the crashes are historically occurring. “We’ll help agencies map those areas and then establish work zones to work inside those areas,” said Krantz. This doesn’t just include daytime hours, but nighttime hours as well. With the visibility of law enforcement agencies in these work zones, Krantz hopes that the number of fatalities will decrease and the percentage of seat belt compliance will increase.

Chief Eric Lee and the officers of the Linden Police Department will also be participating in the Click it or Ticket campaign to make sure drivers wear their seat belts and ensure their safety. “It only takes a couple of seconds to buckle up. Why take a chance? Please buckle up. Every time. Day or night,” he said.

The last deathless day of no reported fatalities from vehicle crashes on Texas highways was November 7, 2000. TxDOT’s goal is to half the number of fatalities by 2035 and have no fatalities by 2050.