Local police target drivers not wearing seat belts

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Carmella Haak appears to buckle up a little late as City of Lockport police officer Aric Morgan approaches her vehicle in this photo illustration. The Click it or ticket campaign began Monday targeting motorists that have neglected to buckle their seat belts. Roadblocks and other means will be used to bring awareness to a very important and safe practice of always making sure your seat belt is buckled. Joe Eberle/Illustration

May 24, 2010

By Britney Milazzo Lockport Union-Sun & Journal The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Mon May 24, 2010, 11:43 PM EDT

The “Click It or Ticket” initiative kicked off Monday for local law enforcement.

Officers in Niagara County said until June 6, they will target those specifically driving without a seat belt.

“Niagara County motorists can expect to receive tickets, not warnings, if officers find them out on the road unbuckled,” Sheriff James R. Voutour said.

Voutour said police will be in full force day and night for the next two weeks, and will look for passengers who are unbuckled.

Capt. Michael F. Niethe said the City of Lockport Police Department applied for the Buckle Up New York grant to support initiatives like “Click It or Ticket.” He said however, keeping an eye out for any driver breaking the law is stressed all year.

“We always enforce all laws, but encourage drivers and passengers to please use a seat belt,” Niethe said.

Since 2006, Niethe said 1,468 seat-belt enforcement tickets were issued in the city.

“We enforce it strongly, because it diminishes the impact of injuries,” Niethe said. “That’s our goal — to keep drivers and highways safe.”

Police in the area agree.

“Seat belts provide the best defense against impaired, distracted and aggressive drivers,” Voutour said. “Wearing your seat belt is the single most crash protection available.”

Niethe said he has seen “severe rollover accidents” where the people in the vehicle “sustained minor injuries because they used a seat belt,” and vice versa.

“And I’ve seen minor accidents on the outside, but major injuries to the people in the vehicle when a seat belt was not used,” Niethe said.

The law says everyone in a vehicle, including those in the back seat, are to wear a seat belt when the vehicle is in drive.

City resident Wendy James said she does everything in her power to be a safe driver.

“Especially when my grandkids are in the car with me,” James said. “I make sure they are safe in their car seats.”

Niethe said the law requires all children less than the age of 4 to be properly anchored in a child safety seat.

“The department offers officer assistance at all times,” he said.

As a grandmother of two young children, James said she aims to help teach safety rules to them at a young age — like wearing a seat belt — and she asked about the proper use.

The correct way to use a seat belt is to put it over your shoulder, Niethe said, but some put it under their arm.

“It’s not required, but it’s encouraged,” Niethe said about using a seat belt over your shoulder.

Niethe said 98 percent of people in city accidents claim to have used their seat belts.

“The only proof otherwise is if a person is ejected from the vehicle or a head mark is shattered in the windshield,” Niethe said. “Ejection almost always results in death.”

And as the weather warms, Lockport police expect more people on the road, which can lead to accidents.

“Nice weather is a factor in accidents,” Niethe said.

According to sheriff’s reports, nighttime drivers in the county are the least likely to use a seat belt. The report also said teens and young adults comprise the county’s highest percentage of those who neglect to use a seat belt.

Sheriff’s Capt. Michael Filicetti has said on numerous occasions that using a seat belt at all times is crucial, along with using “common sense” when it comes to road conditions and following traffic regulations.

“The most common cause of an accident is due to distracted driving ... all we try to ask of drivers is to use their common sense,” Filicetti said. “Wear your seat belt. Follow the speed limit. Stop at stop signs. Look both ways. Don’t drink and drive.”

Officer said they hope Click It or Ticket brings awareness to the public.

This is the second initiative this month in the area. The first targeted those talking on a cell phone without a hands-free set on the Thruway earlier this month.

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