ENID, OK - Enid Police Department will participate in the nationwide Click It or Ticket campaign beginning May 22 and running through June 5.
During this time, which includes Memorial Day weekend, they will have officers out day and night enforcing seatbelt and child restraint seat laws with one goal in mind - saving lives.
The national seat belt use rate in 2022 was 91.6%, which is good - but we can do better. The other 8.4% still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives.
Among young adults 18 to 34 killed while riding in passenger vehicles in 2021, more than half (59%) were completely unrestrained - one of the highest percentages for all age groups.
Among the 24,874 people injured in crashes in Oklahoma in 2020, 2,106 were not restrained.
"It is an indisputable fact that seatbelts save lives," said EPD St. James Buck. "We implore Enid residents, and those traveling through town, to buckle up and ensure younger passengers are in proper restraints."
Buck said seat belt enforcement isn't always the most exciting thing for officers to do, but it is incredibly important to the safety of motorists.
"There is a mentality in Oklahoma that seat belts aren't important, but the data shows people who aren't properly restrained have increased risk for serious injury or death if involved in a crash," Buck said. "Oklahomans also need to know that our children are also just as important. They need to be properly restrained in an approved car seat, booster seat or seatbelt no matter their position in the vehicle."
Buckling up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle, whereas not buckling up can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly.
Air bags are not enough to protect you; in fact, the force of an air bag can seriously injure or even kill you if you're not buckled up. Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below your arm, puts you and your children at risk in a crash.
The citation for drivers and passengers not wearing a seatbelt is $20. Having an unrestrained or improperly restrained child can result in a $115 citation.
"This is a zero-tolerance enforcement," Buck said. "If you are stopped and not wearing a seatbelt you will be cited."
