Enforcement ‘Buckling Down’ On Those Not Buckled Up—Day and Night          
          
[May 14, 2009] –The Maryland State Highway Administration’s Safety Office, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Montgomery County Police Department today issued a reminder to motorists – “buckle up or pay the price.” At a kick-off event for Maryland’s participation in the national Click it or Ticket mobilization, Montgomery County Police Captain Tom Didone told the heart wrenching story of the loss of Ryan Didone, his 15-year old son. While riding unrestrained, Ryan was killed last year in a tragic crash that also seriously injured several of his friends.           
          
"The Montgomery County Police Department and other agencies throughout Maryland are enforcing Maryland's seat belt laws day and night," said Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger. "With the loss of Ryan, the son of one of our own officers, we've seen the impact of not wearing a seat belt hit close to home. Make no mistake, if you don't wear your seat belt, you will be issued a citation, but more importantly, you risk your own life and the lives of others."          
          
Maryland has one of the highest safety belt usage rates in the nation at 93.3 percent, but it is estimated that roughly 90-100 additional lives could be saved each year if all motorists buckled up on every single trip. The Click It or Ticket campaign will emphasize enforcement during nighttime hours – when drivers and occupants are less likely to wear seat belts.           
          
“Seat belt use at night is a national problem with use sometimes falling by as much as 31 percent,” stated NHTSA Region 3 Administrator Elizabeth Baker, Ph.D. “In 2007, about 14,500 people were killed between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Nearly two-thirds of those killed at night were NOT wearing seat belts — a dramatic decrease in belt use compared to daytime hours.”           
          
Serious injury and death may be the ultimate consequences for not wearing a safety belt, but even for those who escape a fatal crash the economic costs of motor vehicle crashes are staggering. Every year motor vehicle crashes cost our country an estimated $230.6 billion.          
          
Dr. Dany Westerband, Head of Trauma at Bethesda’s Suburban Hospital, knows the local impact of crashes all too well. “As a Level II trauma facility, we are given the very difficult task of helping people piece their lives back together after a crash. We see the faces of those injured here and they are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters…crashes simply do not discriminate among victims and all too often, using a seat belt means the difference between life and death.”          
          
Young drivers and passengers are at a greatly increased risk, and are among those least likely to buckle up at night. In fact, the most recent data available shows that roughly 66 percent of Maryland drivers killed while not wearing seat belts at night were between 19 and 34 years old. In 2007, more than 70 percent of male passenger vehicle occupants between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes were NOT wearing seat belts.           
          
“The time you take to buckle your seat belt is the most important time you will spend in your vehicle,” said Maryland State Highway Administrator Neil J. Pedersen. “Traffic crashes and the resulting injuries and fatalities destroy lives. Every motorist in Maryland has the means to protect themselves – slow down, drive sober, and always wear your seat belt – day and night, front seat and back.”           
          
Increased law enforcement activities, including seat belt checkpoints, will be conducted nationwide during the 2008 Click It or Ticket mobilization. Paid national advertising, as well as State advertising, will support the mobilization by promoting the life-saving benefits of regular seat belt use, especially nighttime belt use, to all motorists.           
          
Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce motor vehicle crash fatalities. High-visibility enforcement has been proven effective at getting people to buckle up.          
          
“Seat belts are proven life-savers in a crash,” stated Vernon F. Betkey, Chief of the Maryland Highway Safety Office and Chairman of the Governor’s Highway Safety Association. “The proper use of a seat belt - low across the lap with the shoulder strap over the collar bone - reduces the risk of fatal injury in a crash by up to 60 percent and is your best defense against a drunk or aggressive driver. We’re asking drivers and passengers to choose safety for life - make the right choice and buckle up.” Buckle-up is the first of five major keys to save lives on roadways presented in the acronym B-SAFE: Buckle up, Slow down – speeding kills, Always drive sober, Focus, Everyone share the road – everyone gets home, which is the principle message of the State’s Choose Safety for Life campaign.          
          
          
To learn more about the Click It or Ticket or Choose Safety for Life campaigns and the lifesaving benefits of wearing your seat belt, please visit www.choosesafetyforlife.com. Additional Click It or Ticket information can be found at www.nhtsa.gov.           
          
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