Crime & Safety
Indiana State Police: Click It Or Ticket During Busy Travel Time
Indiana State Police are urging drivers to buckle up during Memorial Day weekend and the busy summer travel season.

ACROSS INDIANA — As the upcoming Memorial Day weekend unofficially kicks off summer, Indiana State Police wants to help keep drivers and travelers safe during this busy travel time. ISP officials are reminding motorists to Click It or Ticket. Aimed at enforcing seat belt use to help keep families safe, the national seat belt campaign will take place May 21 through June 3, during the busy summer travel months.
According to Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, buckling up is something that should become "second nature." In a release sent to Patch, the ISP official adds that the consequences of not buckling up are real and can include death, which can often be prevented by using a seatbelt.
ISP says one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement because according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half (48%) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2016 were unrestrained, but at night from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., that number soared to 56 percent of those killed.
Find out what's happening in Across Indianafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
>> Indianapolis 500, Memorial Day Weekend Preview
“In 2016, almost twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females, with lower belt use rates, too," ISP officials said in a release. "Of the males killed in crashes in 2016, more than half (52%) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 40 percent were not buckled up."
Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night for seat belt violations, officials warn.
Find out what's happening in Across Indianafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
ISP officials want you to help them spread this life-saving message, especially to anyone you know who may not buckle up when they drive or ride.
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, visit nhtsa.gov.
Image via Shutterstock
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.