Police Won’t Just Be Looking For Impaired Drivers Over Memorial Day Weekend

Most of us are familiar with the national campaign to get people to wear their seatbelts in a vehicle called "Click it or Ticket". This campaign is a directive from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). You may see ads with the reminder but be aware that because of the Memorial Day Weekend coming right up which includes people celebrating the beginning of summer, expect law enforcement to have a higher presence with checkpoints possible to check on people to see if they are wearing seatbelts. The law enforcement campaign runs from May 23 to June 5.

Studies show that seatbelts save lives. If you're wondering what part of our population is less likely to buckle up: according to NHTSA, data revealed that in 2020, more than half of all young adults ages 18 to 34 who were killed in crashes, were not wearing seatbelts. NHTSA says, "Men make up the majority of those killed in crashes, representing 67% of all passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2020, and of those men killed, 55% were not wearing seatbelts.

It's hard to imagine in this day and age, people who don't wear a seatbelt, and fortunately, those people are in the minority. According to NHTSA, in 2021, on a national level, 90.4% of the population were seat belt wearers. Law enforcement is trying to close that 10% gap to save more lives.

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If you are stopped by the police for not wearing a seatbelt, the fine is from $25 to $100 with 3 points on your license in New York State according to dmv.ny.gov but that seems like nothing compared to the reality that if are involved in an auto accident and not wearing a seatbelt, if you don't die from your injuries, you'll likely have very serious injuries with possible permanent damage. Just ask yourself if it's worth it, just for that "freedom" of not wearing a seatbelt to take such a high risk with your life.