Illinois Department of Transportation Summer 2009 Traffic ... - Caution

OCCUPANT PROTECTIONClick It or Ticket!Local Law Enforcement Agencies Issued Tough Reminder to PublicFor anyone who complains about getting a ticketfor not buckling up when driving or riding in a motorvehicle, here is a crash course in reality from theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration:• 41,059 people were killed on America’sroadways in 2007.• Over 14,000 passenger vehicle occupantskilled in 2007 were not wearing their safetybelts at the time of the fatal crash.• In 2007, nearly 2.5 million people wereinjured in crashes.• Motor vehicle crashes cost the US economyan estimated $230.6 billion every singleyear.While those may sound like just statistics, thoseof us at the Illinois Department of Transportation’sDivision of Traffic Safety (IDOT/DTS) know thatthose numbers are the actual faces of mothers,fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, aunts,uncles and friends right here in Illinois.in Illinois there are still almost ten percent of thepublic convinced that they do not need safety belts.People often ask, “Are there not more seriouscriminals on the street other than those who simplyare not buckling up? They are not hurting anyonebut themselves.”To the contrary, the people who choose to disobeythe law by not wearing their safety belts are takinga chance with not only their lives, but the emotionaland financial health of their families, friends andentire communities.Law enforcement was out in force to show ourdedication to solving this problem. We want 100percent of motorists to buckle up. Buckling upcosts you nothing, but the costs of NOT buckling upmay be a ticket, or worse — your life. Treat this asa tough and potentially life-saving reminder: ClickIt or Ticket!By Jahari Piersol, State Occupant Protection CoordinatorThis goes to the heart of the IDOT/DTS mission toprotect the public. That is why we teamed up withover 500 local law enforcement agencies to supportthe 2009 national Click It or Ticket safety beltenforcement mobilization, May 18-31.The good news is we have seen unprecedentednumbers of motorists buckling up over the pastseveral years. Safety belts can be credited withsaving more than 15,000 lives in 2007 alone.Thanks in part to high-visibility enforcementcampaigns like Click It or Ticket, this has led to anall-time high observed national safety belt usagerate of 83 percent in 2008—a 25-percent increaseover the past 14 years. But the tragic reality is that16 CAUTION!-Summer 2009