Parsippany Police To Crack Down On People Not Using Seatbelts

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The catchily named "Click It or Ticket" campaign will soon hit Parsippany. Local police will participate in the effort from Monday to June 6.

The national effort mobilizes high-visibility checkpoints and saturation patrols, combining law enforcement with publicity efforts to get people to wear seatbelts.

New Jersey's campaign includes a focus on promoting seatbelt usage in all seats of the vehicle. Seatbelt usage in the front stands at 90.23 percent in New Jersey, while the back seats only have 48 percent seatbelt usage.

“For whatever reason, there seems to be a disconnect with people feeling they don’t need to buckle up when riding as passengers in rear seats, and this is a concern,” said Eric Heitmann, director of the state's Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “By promoting back seat usage of seat belts during our Click It or Ticket campaign, we’re encouraging passenger habits that will save lives.”

The Click It or Ticket campaign got canceled because of the coronavirus public-health emergency. In 2019, 343 New Jersey police agencies participated. They issued 14,548 seatbelt citations and 5,670 speeding summonses, while arresting 858 for impaired driving.

More people nationally are wearing seatbelts than in prior years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency determined that about 90 percent use seat belts — the figure measured 10 percent lower in 2004.

Seat belts saved nearly 15,000 lives in 2016, but they would have saved 2,500 more in accidents where people didn't buckle up, according to the agency.

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