Click It or Ticket Campaign to Begin in February

STATEWIDE – The West Virginia statewide Click It or Ticket campaign is scheduled to begin on Friday, February 7 and end on Saturday, February 15, 2003. The campaign is designed to correspond with the national Child Passenger Safety Week, which is slated for February 9 – 15, 2003.

Historically, West Virginia has had a below average seat belt usage rate. In the year 2000, the rate hovered at around 58 percent. The rate has since begun to increase. In May 2002, the seat belt usage rate climbed to an all-time high of around 72 percent, just three percent lower than the national average of 75 percent.

“The West Virginia State Police will continually do our part to increase the awareness of how important it is to wear a seat belt,” said Colonel Howard E. Hill, Jr., Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police. “The safety of the motoring public in West Virginia is a top priority for the State Police; therefore, we will strictly enforce all seat belt and child safety seat violations, especially during these two campaigns.”

West Virginia law states a person may not operate a passenger vehicle on a public street or highway of this state unless the person, any passenger in the back seat under eighteen years of age, and any passenger in the front seat of such passenger vehicle is restrained by a safety belt meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. The law also states that any child under the age of three must be placed, maintained and secured in a child passenger safety device system meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. The weight of the child is not a consideration in the law.

For more information on seat belt usage rates, seat belt safety and child passenger seats, you can visit The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.