Pickups to be Targeted During ‘Click It or Ticket’ Campaign

There’s no doubt East Texans have a love affair with their pickups. In fact, one in four registered vehicles in the state of Texas are pickups. The sad news is, in a 2011 study conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, only 80 percent of pickup truck drivers buckle up. This is compared to 90 percent of regular seat-belt users in all other types of vehicles.

One reason this is so dangerous is because pickups are twice as likely to roll over as passenger cars. In addition, studies show that passengers pickup trucks typically have a lower seat belt usage than passengers in other types of vehicles as well. Additionally, pickup truck drivers and passengers are typically younger and tend to be male.  Both of those categories tend to have a more “indestructible” feeling about them and tend to ignore the facts that seat belts save lives.

With all that being said, the ‘Click It or Ticket’ program is about to begin. It’s a two-week long program designed to emphasize the ease, and cost effectiveness of using a seat belt. This will be the 11th year for the program and it’s estimated to have saved 2,843 lives in Texas and prevented more than 48,000 serious injuries from crashes.

The ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign will run from May 21-June 3 which will include the Memorial Day weekend. During this time, extra law enforcement will be on the roads enforcing the seat belt and child restraint laws.

The campaign will also stress that under Texas Law, seat belt use is required for all passengers in the vehicle — not just the front seat anymore. And if saving lives isn’t enough, it’s not cheap if you’re caught. Fines for non-compliance can range from $25 to $250.