Click It or Ticket campaign kicks off Saturday

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police and other law enforcement agencies across Indiana will be looking for drivers who aren’t using their seat belts, in the national “Click It or Ticket” enforcement blitz which starts this weekend and runs through the rest of the month.

Organized around Memorial Day weekend, the campaign will have extra officers on overtime patrols making sure drivers and passengers are buckling up and children are properly secure. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement.

Jim Bryan, Traffic Safety Director for the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute said putting on a seat belt takes just a few seconds but can make all the difference in the event of a crash. “If you’re not buckled up, you are taking a dangerous risk.”

In Indiana, drivers can be stopped and both drivers and passengers can be cited for lack of seat belt use, but also for each unbuckled passenger under the age of 16. Additionally, children under eight must be properly restrained in a federally approved child or booster seat.

The overtime patrols are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.