GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The annual law enforcement campaign to encourage people to buckle up while in the car begins Monday.
Green Bay Police is joining other law enforcement agencies for the annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign, which runs from May 24 to June 6.
Currently, 89% of Wisconsin motorists wear safety belts, Green Bay Police said. The 11 percent who fail to buckle up accounted for 43% of all the drivers and passengers killed in Wisconsin traffic crashes in 2020.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, 55% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why Green Bay Police said one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement.
Green Bay Police said Wisconsin’s primary seat belt law, in place since 2009, allows law enforcement to stop and cite motorists for failing to wear a seat belt. Drivers can also be cited for every unbuckled passenger in their vehicle. Penalties are higher for transporting unrestrained children. Failure to fasten a seat belt is among the most common traffic violations in Wisconsin, resulting in more than 27,000 traffic convictions last year.
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.
