'Click It Or Ticket' Seatbelt Enforcement Coming To Montgomery Co

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Buckle up — or pay up. Next month, a seatbelt enforcement effort will get underway across Montgomery County from May 17 through May 30.

Police departments around the county will cooperate on the effort, which is a statewide program organized by State Police and PennDOT. Increased patrols will target seatbelt and enforce seatbelt laws.

The goal of the enforcement is to improve safety and save lives by improving community education and awareness of seatbelt necessity.

PennDOT said there were 9,115 motor vehicle crashes in Montgomery County in 2019, with 1,093 of them involving an unbuckled driver or passenger.

Eight of the 30 fatalities that occurred in traffic accidents in 2019 involved unbuckled occupants.

Officials say a seat belt increases the chances of surviving a crash by up to 60 percent. Modeling correct behavior is especially important, as younger individuals are very impressionable in whether they pick up this habit, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Montgomery County's Office of Public Safety will be embarking on a simultaneous outreach effort in the community and on social media throughout the enforcement period.