INDIANA - Starting on May 12th Region residents, and anyone driving through Northwest Indiana had better be diligent about wearing their seat belt while driving, because anyone who doesn't could get a ticket.
There will be extra officers on the street from the Lake County Traffic Safety Partnership, in addition to the ones already on-duty taking part in the 2017 national Click it or Ticket campaign.
Lake County TSP Coordinator Sergeant Ronald Russo says as the busy summer driving season gets underway, it's critical that everyone buckles up every time they go out day and night.
"Our goal is to increase the usage of seat belts," Russo says. "So that's why we send press releases out. That's why we do interviews, to try and increase public awareness that this is an issue, and an ongoing issue for years and years, and the more people wear their seatbelts, the lower the incidents of fatal crashes that we'll have."
Russo says Officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is a not wearing their seat belt, including drivers who have neglected to properly buckle their children.
Q: "Are there any circumstances under which a seat belt would not be beneficial?
A: "You hear those stories a lot from people and I can't see any reason not to wear a seatbelt. I can honestly say in my 15 years in law enforcement I've not seen an instance where I've said 'wow it's a good thing they didn't have their seatbelt on.' I've seen many collisions over the course of my time as a police officer and the seat belt always minimizes injury or the fatality."
Russo says according to the latest data available, in 2015 9,874 vehicle occupants, who were killed, were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash. He adds that the research shows that the "unbelted fatalities" were more prevalent during the nighttime hours. Every police agency in Lake County will be participating in Click it or Ticket. On May 22nd beginning at 4 p.m. there will be a special operation called "Border to Border," which Russo says is a nationwide mobilization of the Click it or Ticket program to shine light on the fact that seat belt laws are effective in every state.
