Click It or Ticket Nets 5,851 Occupant Protection Charges in First Week

    RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 5 As federal highway safety advocates
announced that the spring "Click It or Ticket" campaign helped boost the
national seat belt use rate to its highest level ever, law enforcement
officers across the state ticketed 5,851 drivers and passengers for failure to
use seat belts and/or child safety seats during the first week of the fall
"Click It or Ticket" campaign.

    From Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, officers conducted 1,313 law enforcement
activities in support of "Click It or Ticket," which was launched with a
statewide kickoff event in Durham. Dr. Jeff Runge of Charlotte, the new
administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was the
keynote speaker.

    On Aug. 30, Runge announced that the national seat belt use rate increased
from 71 percent to 73 percent, the highest level since the federal government
initiated regular surveys in 1994.  Gains were particularly notable in the
South, where the rate increased from 69 percent to 76 percent following last
spring's regional "Click It or Ticket" campaign.  Eight southeastern states
followed the North Carolina enforcement model, and all increased their belt
use.  North Carolina's rate for drivers is 83.6 percent, one of the highest in
the nation.

    Current citation data was reported by law enforcement agencies in each
county and compiled by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.  During the
first week of the current campaign, officers wrote 5,394 seat belt tickets and
457 child passenger safety violations.  Counties with the highest number of
seat belt citations include Wake with 484, Surry with 334, and Union with 228.
Besides cracking down on seat belt and child passenger safety violators,
officers across the state last week charged 941 motorists with driving while
impaired (DWI).  They discovered a total of 25,302 violations, including
237 drug charges, nine stolen vehicles, and five fugitives from justice.  The
campaign continues through Sept. 16.


                             Statewide Totals

                  DWI        Occupant Restraint      Traffic Violations
                 Driving                  Child
    Total         While       Seat       Passenger                Total
   Checkpoints  Impaired      Belt        Safety                  Traffic
   and Patrols  Violations  Violations  Violations   Speeding   Violations

     1,313        941        5,394          457       8,334       24,644


                              Criminal Violations
                                                           Other
                                Stolen                    Criminal
      Drug           Firearm    Vehicles     Fugitives    Violations
    Violations     Violations   Recovered    Arrested     Not Listed

      237              12          9            5            409

                         Total
       Total           Traffic &
     Criminal          Criminal
    Violations        Violations

       658             25,302


For county-by-county "Click It or Ticket" numbers -- or information regarding
other North Carolina highway safety issues -- contact Jill Warren Lucas at the
                GHSP, 919-733-3083, or visit our Web site at:
                      http://www.dot.state.nc.us/services/ghsp.