North Carolina's Seat Belt Enforcement Campaign Crosses State Lines; Eight Southeastern States Join Forces For Regional 'Click It or Ticket'

    What:   Regional 'Click It or Ticket' Campaign Event
    When:   11 a.m. Tuesday, May 22
    Where:  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Charlotte

    RALEIGH, N.C., May 21 North Carolina's nationally
recognized "Click It or Ticket" initiative is the model for a regional high
visibility enforcement and public education campaign to get drivers throughout
the Southeast to buckle up.
    North Carolina launched its spring campaign May 14 with a statewide
kickoff in Raleigh.  Today marks the regional launch of the eight-state "Click
It or Ticket" initiative in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,
South Carolina and Tennessee.  Those states will conduct two-week campaigns.
    Officials of several participating states will join national safety
advocates for a "Click It or Ticket" event at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 22, at the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 East Fourth Street, in Charlotte.
In case of inclement weather, the event will be held indoors in the lobby.  A
seat belt checkpoint and child passenger safety clinic will follow on North
Caldwell Street between 6th and 8th streets.
    Speaking at the Charlotte event will be Chuck Hurley of the National
Safety Council and Maury Hannigan, commissioner emeritus of the California
Highway Patrol.  Also scheduled to speak are Col. Holden, Col. Ralph Mobley of
South Carolina Highway Patrol, and Lt. Col. Johnny Grimes of the Georgia State
Patrol.  The trio appeared together at a "Click It" event this morning in
Atlanta and will speak at another one Tuesday afternoon in Columbia, SC.
    The Charlotte event follows today's release by the National Safety Council
of a report on seat belt use titled "Mired in Mediocrity: A Nationwide Report
Card on Driver and Passenger Safety."  North Carolina received a "B" grade
because of its combination of strong adult and child restraint laws that are
well enforced.  Twelve other states and the District of Columbia also received
a "B," but 19 states earned "D" or "F" grades.  California, which at 89
percent has the highest reported seat belt use in the nation, was the only
state to receive an "A."
    Since "Click It or Ticket" began in 1993, North Carolina's seat belt use
rate has jumped from 65 percent to the current high of 81 percent, which is
well above the national average.  As a result, fatal and serious injuries have
declined by 14 percent, and more than $135 million has been saved in health
care-related costs.

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