Seat Belt Enforcement Effort Aims to Save Lives Through Participation in Click It or Ticket Campaign

Polk County Sheriff’s Office – From August 22nd through September 4th Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with law enforcement Officers throughout Oregon will participate in the national Click It or Ticket traffic enforcement “blitz” in an effort to save lives through increased seat belt use and education.  This enforcement period comes ahead of the Labor Day weekend, which is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.  According to AAA more than 35.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more on the Labor Day weekend.  During the “blitz” law enforcement agencies will also be working to educate parents about the importance of proper child seat and safety belt use during the statewide traffic enforcement “blitz.” 

The Click it or Ticket Campaign wants to bring awareness to some of the most vulnerable passengers by recognizing National Child Passenger Safety Week, which is September 18th through the 24th.  During this time many communities will have Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians on-hand to provide education on how to use child car seats and booster seats.  Locally, the Salem Hospital has a Child Car Seat Inspection Station, which is held every fourth Saturday of the month from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm.  The next inspection date is August 27th.  For other local Child Car Seat Inspection Stations and additional information regarding Child Passengers visit www.safercar.gov.      

According to research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause nationwide of death for children ages one through twelve years old.  Child seats may increase crash survival by 71% for infants under one year old and by up to 59% for toddlers aged one to four.  Booster seats may reduce the chance of nonfatal injury among four to eight year olds by 45% compared to safety belts used alone.  NHTSA observations of state safety belt use in 2015 revealed that Oregon’s safety belt use rate is 95.5%, which is the 3rd highest ranking in the country trailing California and Georgia at 97.3%.

Oregon law requires children weighing under forty pounds to use a child seat with harness.  Children under one year of weighing less than twenty pounds must ride in a rear-facing child seat.  A child over forty pounds must either a child seat or booster until they reach age eight or 4’9” tall and the adult belt fits them correctly.  If you are unsure whether your child is ready to transition to an adult belt system, use the east five-step test here: www.carseat.org/Booster/630.htm.   

During the upcoming Labor Day weekend thousands of people will travel through Polk County.  The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is committed to ensuring the safety of everyone by enforcement and education through the Click It or Ticket campaign.  One of the most important safety measures individuals can take is to not only buckle up themselves, but ensure child passengers are safely secured in the vehicle.       

For more information on the Click It or Ticket campaign, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.