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MoDOT News Release
May 13, 2004
Click It or Ticket Campaign Begins Monday
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Transportation’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign will begin May 16 with an aggressive advertising effort supported by enforcement of safety belt and child restraint laws.
Among the messages of the campaign:
•If you’re wearing your safety belt in a crash, your injury chances are only one in eight. If you’re not, your chances are one in four.
• A driver involved in a 2004 Missouri traffic crash had a one in 37 chance of being killed if not wearing a safety belt. In those cases where drivers wore safety belts, their chance of being killed was only one in 1,283.
• Safety belts reduce the risk of serious injury for front seat occupants of passenger cars by 50 percent and light trucks by 65 percent.
The statewide campaign emphasizes increased enforcement of Missouri’s traffic laws, including following too closely, speeding, driving while intoxicated, and occupant restraint violations. With more than 1,000 work zones in Missouri this year, these laws are especially important.
Law enforcement across the state will take a zero-tolerance stance to increase awareness and compliance of Missouri’s safety belt and child restraint laws. Enforcement efforts begin May 23 and run through June 5, including the Memorial Day holiday.
“Traffic fatalities are an ongoing tragedy we must do something about,” said Scott Turner, highway safety program administrator for MoDOT. “The laws for safety belt and child restraint use are on the books to save lives.”
Sixty percent of the people who died in traffic crashes last year were not buckled up. Over eighty percent of those killed in crashes involving pickup trucks weren’t wearing their safety belts either. Using safety belts and child restraints is one of the best ways to prevent death and personal injury when involved in a traffic crash.
MoDOT, in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Missouri Safety Center, awarded grants to local law enforcement agencies to assist in the national effort.
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