Oregon Safety Belt Campaign

Tualatin Police will be conducting a safety enforcement blitz starting February 8, 2016. The project will focus on proper belt use for adults as well as children riding in car seats, texting while driving and speed. 

Tualatin Police will join with police agencies nationwide for the annual, “Click it or ticket” campaign that runs from February 8th through February 21st.   Oregon agencies will focus on educating drivers on the importance of wearing their safety belt properly and making sure children are properly secured in a child passenger safety seat. They will also focus on educating drivers on the dangers of texting while driving and speeding.

Statistics show child safety seats reduce crash fatality risk for infants under 1 year old by 71 percent and for toddlers aged 1 to 4 by 54 percent. Safety belts reduce fatality risk by 45 to 60 percent.  And yet, 31% or 61 of Oregon’s 198 occupant fatalities in 2012 were reportedly unrestrained. ODOT estimates that approximately half of these fatalities could have been avoided with proper restraint use.

Consistent vehicle restraint use is the single most effective way to protect motor vehicle occupants from crash injury or death, according to the US Department of Transportation.

For safety belt systems, “proper use” means lap belt placed low across hips and shoulder belt crossing center of the chest over the collarbone.  Belts should be free of slack and lying flat with no twists or knots.  If the shoulder belt portion of the belt rides up onto the neck or feels uncomfortable, comfort may be increased by using the built-in adjuster or by moving seat position.  The shoulder belt should NOT be placed under the arm or behind the back – this can cause serious internal injuries or ejection in a crash. 

Oregon law enforcement agencies are committed to reducing traffic crash injuries and deaths by promoting safety belt use and encouraging other safe driving behaviors through active enforcement and education.

The safety enforcement campaign is a federally funded program administered by ODOT.

Nearly one hundred state, county and city police agencies are participating in overtime grants to be used primarily during joint, statewide enforcement saturations or, “blitzes” scheduled for February, May and September. 

For more information on the, “Click it or Ticket” program please visit the following web pages, www.nhtsa.dot.gov/  or https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/Pages/safetybelts.aspx