If you are operating a motor vehicle anywhere in the state of Texas between now and June 1, be sure to wear a seat belt. Not just because it’s safer, but also because it could cost you. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is cracking down on those who don’t buckle up, as part of the 13th annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign. For the time being, officers will be looking specifically for those who don’t wear them and will stop to give them a ticket.
This stepped-up enforcement effort is undertaken every year at about this time because this is the time of year when people move into Texas, and when Texans take vacations. Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the heaviest travel season of the year, and law enforcement feels it’s a good time to remind drivers of the importance of keeping everyone safe.
While the state is number 19 among states when it comes to seat belt use, and nine out of every ten Texans routinely wears a seat belt, the fact is, in 2013 the state saw 3,371 traffic fatalities overall, with 1,500 of the victims not wearing seat belt. Also, while seat belt use is very high overall, all things are not equal among all age groups. For example, only 54% of high school age drivers report always wearing a seat belt when riding with someone else.
The annual effort to maximize enforcement of state law requiring motorists to wear seat belts is the brainchild of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but will include the full cooperation of sheriff’s offices throughout the state, as well as Texas Department of Public Safety and TxDOT, because everyone believes that seat belts save lives.
According to the NHTSA, statistics show that your chance of surviving a serious car crash increases by about 45 percent when you’re wearing a seat belt, while buckling up in a pickup truck increases your survival chances by about 60 percent, because of a pickup’s tendency to roll. The agency estimates that wearing a seat belt saves around 15,000 lives and more than 100,000 injuries every year nationwide.
The experienced Auto and Truck Accident Injury Lawyer at Hill Law Firm would like to remind everyone to buckle up this summer, and help keep the roads safer for everyone.