Published: May 14, 2008 09:40 am         

Drivers who don’t click it could be in for a ticket

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

Thanks to a Texas Department of Transportation grant, the Mineral Wells Police Department is stepping up their enforcement of seatbelt safety during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.

From May 19 through June 1st, Mineral Wells Police Chief Jerry White said local police officers will patrol the community, focusing on seatbelt violators.

“We’ll be out there for this time frame,” White said. “We will be focusing on seatbelts, not only with drivers but with passengers and children as well.”

This is the fifth year for the MWPD to participate in the “Click it or Ticket” program. According to TxDOT, “thousands of state troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies will be on Texas streets and highways … issuing citations to drivers who aren’t buckled up and whose children aren’t properly restrained. This year, law enforcement will also pay attention to front-seat passengers, observed not wearing safety belts.”

To monitor effectiveness, White said the department will conduct a survey of motorists who don’t wear seatbelts this week and a post-evaluation after June 1 to determine if the extra measures impacted people’s seatbelt habits.

According to the Texas Transportation Institute, less than eight of every 10 passengers in pickups buckle up.

“Since pickups are twice as likely as passenger vehicles to roll over in a fatal crash, we worry about the safety of people who don’t take the simple precaution of buckling up when they’re in a truck,” said Carlos Lopez, TxDOT’s traffic operations director. “Wearing a safety belt reduces the risks of dying in a pickup rollover crash by as much as 80 percent.”

The MWPD received an $8,000 grant this year, $3,000 more than last year. White said the grant is a 100 percent reimbursement grant and would allow police officers to work an additional 200 hours during the two-week period.

According to the Mineral Wells court clerk, a ticket for failure to wear a seatbelt costs $162. If a child is unrestrained in a vehicle, the driver can be issued a $175 citation.

“The simple act of buckling up is the easiest, least expensive and most effective way to prevent traffic deaths and injuries,” said Lopez. “It also can keep you from getting a ticket.”