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Seat Belt Campaign To Stress Zero Tolerance For Violators

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SUNCOAST NEWS STAFF REPORT

Published: May 21, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Drivers might get belted with a traffic ticket if they and their passengers don't wear their seat belts through June 1.

The annual Click It Or Ticket campaign has begun to convince Florida drivers to buckle up with a zero-tolerance policy for violators.

Florida Department of Transportation is teaming up with Florida Highway Patrol and other area law enforcement agencies on the seat belt campaign.

While nearly eight out of 10 Florida drivers buckle up, there's still plenty of room for improvement, DOT officials believe.

The state ranks 35th in the nation for seat belt usage, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures show. Pasco County alone counted 38 traffic fatalities in 2006 attributed to the lack of seat-belt use, according to figures supplied by Kristen Carson, a spokeswoman for the DOT District 7 office in Tampa.

Statewide, 1,301 traffic fatalities happened in 2006 because people didn't buckle up.

"Regular safety belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce motor vehicle crash fatalities," DOT District Seven Secretary Don Skelton said in a press release.

DOT's goal for the 2008 Click it or Ticket campaign is to raise the state percentage of safety belt usage to 85 percent from 79.1 percent.

Capt. Michelle Carter of the Highway Patrol reports that safety belts, when worn correctly, have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 45 percent in sedans and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans.

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