The annual Click it or Ticket campaign has begun today. Law enforcement officers from the Lakewood Police Department and other departments around the nation are cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the national campaign.

Running through June 3, 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.

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 2017 campaign in Lakewood, 121 seat belt tickets were issued, and 30 tickets for other violations.