UHP Kicks Off Click It or Ticket with Border to Border Seat Belt Enforcement

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Highway Safety

Press Release

Protecting Utah

UHP Kicks Off Click It or Ticket with Border to Border Seat Belt Enforcement

Sunday May 19, 2019

On Monday, May 20th, the Utah Highway Patrol will join law enforcement agencies throughout Utah and in its six neighboring states and across the United States in mobilizing the Click It or Ticket “Border to Border” (B2B) Operation, a one-day national seat belt awareness kickoff event. Law enforcement agencies will join forces to provide increased seat belt enforcement across state borders, sending a zero tolerance message to the public: driving or riding unbuckled will result in a ticket, no matter what state.

The B2B program aims to increase law enforcement participation in the Click It or Ticket mobilization by coordinating high visibility seat belt enforcement. Utah is partnering with law enforcement agencies in neighboring states including Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona.

This “Border to Border” initiative is taking place during the Click It or Ticket national seat belt enforcement campaign, which is occurring from May 20 through June 2, concurrent with one of the busiest travel and holiday weekends of the year.

During this time, 61 law enforcement agencies throughout Utah will work more than 615 overtime shifts to stop and educate motorists who aren’t wearing a seat belt. The enforcement period is strategically planned to begin right before the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer.

“Although we work in different states and for different organizations, we are all working toward the same goal: to reduce traffic fatalities and save lives,” said Utah Highway Patrol Colonel Michael Rapich. “Seat belt use is the single most effective way to survive a crash and the Border to Border initiative helps show that law enforcement nationwide is working in one concentrated effort to increase seat belt use.”

Past Success

The B2B program has proven to be a highly effective seat belt enforcement campaign in 43 States nationwide. The B2B program has yielded results that speak to the collaboration of the State, county, and local law enforcement agencies. Each year, participating law enforcement offices issue thousands of citations for seat belt and child safety seat violations, as well as other traffic infractions. This, in turn, reminded drivers to drive safer.

Click here to read the results from UHP’s Border to Border seat belt enforcement effort last year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2017, there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign and the B2B kickoff event is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

To demonstrate the cross border partnership, agencies from the neighboring states gathered regionally prior to the enforcement period. The resulting photos will be utilized to highlight the interagency cooperation for local media and citizens. Several of these photos appear below.