Full Notification

Hamilton County Traffic Safety Partnership Warns of Click It or Ticket Patrols

This month your Hamilton County Traffic Safety Partnership will join law-enforcement agencies across the nation to increase enforcement of aggressive driving laws for Click It or Ticket. Multiple weeks of highly visible patrols will be watching for unsafe driving and unrestrained passengers in cars and trucks, both children and adults, the front seat and back, both day and night.

Click It or Ticket continues through the Memorial Day holiday and the start of the summer travel season. Overtime police patrols are paid with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).

Indiana law requires the driver to obey all traffic laws and all occupants to buckle up. Failing to abide by traffic statutes and not buckling up are leading causes of traffic fatalities and injuries. Children under age eight must be properly restrained in child car seat or booster seat.

Don’t be a statistic
The share of Hoosiers not buckling up has dropped to 6.6 percent, below the national average of 10.4 percent. But new data from ICJI and the Indiana University Public Policy Institute show that unrestrained motorists still make up 53 percent of traffic deaths.

Unrestrained motorists are more likely to die in crashes by 10 times in cars and SUVs, 14 times in pickup trucks and 15 times in vans. If you have a friend or a family member who does not buckle up, speak up! Ask them to change their habits. Aggressive driving habits such as failing to signal turns and lane changes, disregarding traffic control devices at intersections, exceeding the posted speed limits, especially in school zones and construction areas, and following too closely also contribute heavily to fatal crashes, as does impaired driving whether on alcohol or drugs.

Drivers under age 24, especially young male drivers, are the least likely to be buckled during a crash. Injury rates among unrestrained motorists are also higher:
• In rural counties,
• When a driver is speeding or impaired, and
• On weekend nights between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.

More seat-belt statistics are in the first of several 2018 Crash Fact Sheets at www.in.gov/cji/files/Seat_Belt_Fact_Sheet2018.pdf.

Child restraints
Traffic crashes are the leading killer of children ages 1 to 13, and adults set the example. Parents and caregivers who do not buckle up are more likely to have kids who are improperly restrained. That means one ticket for the driver and one for each unrestrained child.

Choose the safest car seat for your child’s height and weight at www.safercar.gov/therightseat. Find a certified car-seat safety technician to assist with installation and proper usage at www.preventinjury.org/Child-Passenger-Safety/Child-Safety-Seat-Inspection-Stations or through the SaferCar app on the App Store or Google Play. Many local law enforcement agencies provide free services to inspect and/or install child safety seats. Contact the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office or a local municipality to check on these services.

Safe driving tips
What is the best way to reduce your chances of injury or death? Buckle up and drive defensively!
• Put away anything that might distract the driver’s attention from the roadway
• Use turn signals to indicate lane changes and turns
• Maintain a safe distance from other vehicles
• Drive within the posted speed limits
• Secure the lap seat belt across your hips and pelvis, below your stomach.
• Place the shoulder seat belt across the middle of your chest and rib cage, away from your neck.
• Never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.
• If your seat belt doesn’t fit you, or you have an older car with lap belts only, ask your dealer or vehicle manufacturer about seat-belt adjusters, extenders or retrofits.