Did you know:
• Seat belt use saves thousands of lives across America each year. In 2011 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 11,949 lives nationwide.
• In fatal crashes during 2011, 77 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were thrown from their vehicles were killed. However, only 1 percent of crash victims who were buckled up were totally ejected from their vehicles, compared to 31 percent of those who were unbelted.
• Motorists are 75 percent less likely to be killed in a rollover crash if they are buckled up.
• Click It or Ticket works. High-visibility enforcement is credited with increasing the national seat belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to an estimated observed usage rate of 86 percent in 2012—an all-time high rate.
• In 2011, of the 21,253 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle crashes nationwide, 52 percent were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.
• From 2007-2011, 53 percent of the 121,507 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes were unrestrained.
• Younger motorists—young men in particular—are most at risk. Among teens and young adults, ages 18-34, who were killed in fatal crashes in 2011, 64 percent were NOT buckled up at the time of the crash—the highest percentage of any age group. The number jumps to 66 percent when only men in this age group are included.
• Pickup truck drivers and passengers are also at risk. In 2011, 65 percent of pickup truck occupants who were killed in traffic crashes were not buckled up at the time of the crashes, compared to 46 percent of passenger car occupants who were killed from not buckling up.
• Nationally, 62 percent of the 10,135 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes overnight (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) in 2011 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash, compared to 43 percent during the daytime hours.
• Motorists should buckle up every time they go out, both day and night. Law enforcement agencies across the country are prepared to ticket anyone not buckled up…no warnings and no excuses. Click It or Ticket.
• While this year’s Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization runs from May 20 through June 2, motorists should know that officers are out enforcing seat belt laws year-round.
• The national Click It or Ticket mobilization has increased seat belt use and saved many lives over the years, but there is still much more that can be done. High-visibility enforcement and encouraging loved ones to buckle up can turn thousands of lives lost into many more lives saved.
For more about the 2013 mobilization, visitwww.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.