AgriLife Extension supporting ‘Click It or Ticket’ efforts

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is supporting efforts by state and national traffic safety agencies and police and sheriffs’ departments to save lives by promoting increased front and back seat belt use.

“We support the Texas Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety and law enforcement in their Click It or Ticket campaign,” said Bev Kellner, AgriLife Extension project director — passenger safety,  Bryan-College Station. “This year, the campaign is May 23-June 5, which includes the Memorial Day weekend. For this effort and in general, AgriLife Extension is urging Texas drivers and backseat passengers to buckle up.”

Taking time to buckle your seat belt is the single most important step you can take to protect yourself in a vehicle crash, Kellner said.

Benefits of wearing seat belts 

“Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of dying by 45% for people in the front seat of passenger cars,” Kellner said. “They also reduce the risk of dying by 60% for drivers of pickups, because pickups are twice as likely to roll over as passenger vehicles.”

Kellner said that passengers are wearing their seat belts in the front seat, but many passengers riding in the back seat do not feel they need to buckle their seat belts.  

“Unbelted backseat passengers can become human projectiles, injuring themselves and the other passengers, even those wearing seatbelts,” she said.

Testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that a driver who has an unbelted passenger sitting behind them is twice as likely to die in a wreck, even if wearing a seatbelt.

“When traveling at just 35 mph, the unbelted rear passenger will slam into the driver with force strong enough to deflate the airbag,” Kellner explained.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2020, the number of people who died while not wearing a seat belt increased by 16% over 2019, with 1,073 unbuckled drivers and passengers killed on Texas roadways.

“Texas law requires the driver and all passengers in a vehicle to be secured by a seat belt, Kellner said. “Unbuckled adult drivers and passengers, even those in the back seat, can be fined and face court costs of up to $250.

She also noted that children younger than 8 must be in a child safety seat or booster seat unless they are taller than 4–feet 9-inches.

“Now, more than ever, it is important to wear a seat belt in the front and the back and make sure that children are buckled up properly,” she said. “Wearing a seat belt helps keep occupants from being ejected in a crash and increases the chances of surviving by 45%. In pickup trucks, that number increases to 60%.”

Additional safety tips

Kellner also provided some related safety tips for drivers and passengers:

— Children should ride in the back seat until 13 years old.

“Until a child reaches age 13, their bones are not fully developed,” she explained. “Placing a child whose bones are not yet strong enough in the front seat — where there is the windshield, dashboard and airbags — puts them at greater risk of injury or death during a crash.”

— Pickup trucks, while big and strong, are twice as likely to roll over in a crash due to their higher center of gravity.

“Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of dying in a crash in a pickup truck,” Kellner said. “It is important to always make sure that the driver and every passenger in a pickup truck is buckled up,” 

— Buckling up is not just for the daytime.

“Between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., more crashes and fatalities happen,” she said. “At night, the visibility is less, and many drivers are tired,” she said. “There’s also the possibility that some drivers in the early morning hours may be impaired or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

— Buckle up on short trips as well as long ones.

“Don’t think you can skip buckling your seat belt if it’s a short trip. Most fatal crashes happen within 25 miles of home and at speeds of less than 40 mph.”

Increased law enforcement activity

Kellner said because this year’s campaign time frame includes the Memorial Day weekend — when many people take to the road to enjoy a long weekend — drivers will likely see additional law enforcement activity, including seat belt and child restraint checks.

“These officers are not out there just to write tickets; they want to help prevent needless tragedies associated with vehicle crashes,” she said. “It just takes a few seconds to buckle up and save your life. Buckling up isn’t something to do just during Click It or Ticket. It’s something every driver and passenger should do automatically each time they get into a vehicle – day or night.”

Kellner noted when the Click It or Ticket campaign launched in 2002, only 76% of Texans used their seat belts.

“According to Texas Department of Transportation data from 2021, almost nine out of 10 drivers and passengers buckle their seat belts,” she said. “That’s pretty good, but there’s still room for improvement.”