Law enforcement officers from the Lakewood Police Department will join with police from around the country in cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign.

Beginning May 22 and running through June 4, the annual “Click It or Ticket” national mobilization utilizes high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, in combination with local and national publicity efforts, to reiterate the life-saving value of seat belts.

“Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a driver and his or her passengers to protect themselves when traveling,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “In 2015, it is estimated that 14,000 lives were saved nationally by the proper use of seat belts.”

Poedubicky added that a key focus of this year’s campaign is to promote seat belt usage by adults in all seating positions in the vehicle, both front AND rear seats. The front seat belt usage rate in New Jersey currently stands at 93.35%. However, adults riding in rear seats are buckling up at a significantly lower rate. “For whatever reason there seems to be a disconnect with people feeling they don’t need to buckle up when riding as a passenger in rear seats, and this is a concern,” he said.

During the 2016 “Click it or Ticket” campaign, 387 New Jersey police agencies participated in the two-week initiative. As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued 26,551 seat belt citations, 5,517 speeding summonses and made 876 impaired driving arrests.