'Click it or Ticket' campaign underway in Washington

The minimum fine for not wearing a seat belt is $102.

Law enforcement officers the Somerset Hills area will join with police across the country in cracking down on unbuckled motorists and passengers as part of the 2018 national "Click it or Ticket" campaign.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost half of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2016 were unrestrained.

Kansas ranks towards the bottom one-third in seat belt usage among all 50 states.

The Hawai'i Island Police Department wants all drivers on the Big Island to know that National Click It or Ticket Campaign starts this week on May 15th and continues through June 4th.

During the 2017 "Click It or Ticket" campaign in Oklahoma, almost 300 agencies participated, resulting in 8,057 seat belt violations and 244 child passenger restraint violations.

"The Click it. Or ticket. campaign is about saving lives". In 2016 alone, seat belts saved 14,668 lives nationwide.

There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their large vehicles will protect them better than other vehicles would in a crash.

In 2017, 42 percent of automobile fatalities in North Carolina were drivers or passengers who were not wearing their seat belt.

"Wearing a seat belt is one of the most important steps in increasing survivability in a crash. If the enforcement crackdown wakes people up to the dangers of unrestrained driving and gets them to buckle up, we'll consider it a success". "Adults should wear a seat belt - every trip, every time - and ensure children are properly buckled in an appropriate child passenger safety seat".