Dover – ‘Back country road, early morning nobody else is out there, what could happen? They did crash and her head went through the windshield’…’The one who was not wearing the seat belt was completely ejected from the vehicle’…’She was ejected from the vehicle that she was in…’ These are just some of the stories of crashes that real Delaware paramedics have encountered on Delaware roadways and is also one of the many reasons the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) along with officers from 17 participating State, County and municipal law enforcement agencies are launching the eleventh annual “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign starting Monday May 14th.

Click It or Ticket is a high visibility enforcement and public awareness campaign aimed at saving lives by getting more people to wear their seat belts.  This year the Click It or Ticket campaign message “Seat Belts Save More Lives Than We Do” speak about real life unbelted crashes, injuries, and fatals encountered by Delaware paramedics.

“Our paramedics see firsthand the serious injuries and deaths resulting from crashes when seat belts are not used,” said Governor Markell. “It is important we heed their advice and wear our seat belts on every trip.”

Extra enforcement will be conducted for a two week period beginning May 14^th, in the form of traffic safety checkpoints and saturation patrols statewide. Because fewer than 1/3 of Delaware’s unrestrained fatals occur during the daytime, the focus will be on night time enforcement. Last year, 50% of all occupant fatalities were unrestrained; a significant increase over 2010 when 34% were unrestrained.

“Each year far too many Delawareans die in fatal crashes. Buckling up is one quick and easy way to keep our loved ones safe as we travel throughout the State. I encourage you to make it a habit every time you get into a vehicle. You never know when it may just save your life.” said Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Lewis D. Schiliro.

Delaware law requires drivers and all passengers, including those in the back seat, to wear a seat belt.  An officer can pull over a driver if they see any person in the vehicle not wearing a seat belt, even if there is no other violation.  Officers will be issuing citations for seat belt violations as part of a zero tolerance policy.  The $83.50 seat belt ticket goes to the driver no matter who is unbuckled in the vehicle.

“What could you do with $83.50? Dinner and a movie? More downloads on iTunes?” asks Jana Simpler, Director for the Office of Highway Safety. “Don’t risk a ticket or worse. Buckle up, every trip, every time.”

Enforcement is being accompanied by statewide public awareness and paid media in the forms of billboards, radio, Pandora radio, T.V., print, and internet advertising and will also be accompanied by outreach activities to high schools and in the community.  Seat belt kits were distributed to high schools.  The kits included several fun ideas and activities for the schools to help teach students about the importance of bucking up such as setting up a faux checkpoint as students leave the school parking lot, and seat belt e-card students can create on Facebook and share with parents and friends and if their card is ‘liked’ they are entered into a drawing to win a gift card for dinner at Grotto Pizza with their family.

OHS community outreach events to promote seat belt safety include seat belt musical chairs at the Wilmington Blue Rocks May 18^th & 19^th, and Dover International Speedway June 1-3^rd.  On June 2^nd NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley will be playing seat belt musical chairs with a few lucky fans and winners of all the musical chairs contests will receive an OHS or Blue Rocks prize pack.

Get the facts:

• Did you know that 50% of all occupant fatalities in Delaware last year were individuals not wearing a seat belt and that fewer than 1/3 of Delaware’s unrestrained fatals occur during the daytime.
• Wearing a seat belt decreases your risk of being seriously injured or killed in a crash by approximately 50%.
• Hospital data shows that unbelted occupants in crashes are 3 times more likely to require a hospital stay. On average, hospital costs for an unbelted crash victim are 55% higher than those for a belted crash victim.
• Strong seat belt laws protect families.  When parents are buckled up, 90% of the time their children are too.

For more information on Click It or Ticket enforcement results and a look at updated campaign materials, please visit www.ohs.delaware.gov, like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE or follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe .

Dover  – The following checkpoint is scheduled to take place Friday as part of the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign:

Friday May 4th –   Newark  (NcCo DUI Task Force)

The Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign is a crackdown on impaired driving.  Delaware will be conducting 2 DUI checkpoints each month until July when weekly DUI checkpoints will resume.  This campaign is aimed at removing impaired drivers from our roadways and deterring those who might otherwise choose to drive after drinking alcohol or using drugs.

The Office of Highway Safety reminds motorists that traffic deaths kill and injure Delawareans nearly twice as often as violent crimes.

For more information on Checkpoint Strikeforce visit www.ohs.delaware.gov and follow regular campaign updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Dover  – The following checkpoint is scheduled to take place Friday as part of the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign:

Friday April 27th –   Wilmington  (NcCo DUI Task Force)

The Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign is a crackdown on impaired driving.  Delaware will be conducting 2 DUI checkpoints each month until July when weekly DUI checkpoints will resume.  This campaign is aimed at removing impaired drivers from our roadways and deterring those who might otherwise choose to drive after drinking alcohol or using drugs.

The Office of Highway Safety reminds motorists that traffic deaths kill and injure Delawareans nearly twice as often as violent crimes.

For more information on Checkpoint Strikeforce visit www.ohs.delaware.gov and follow regular campaign updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Dover – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is asking drivers “Are You That Guy?” as they launch the agency’s aggressive driving campaign for 2012.  The agency is building upon the already successful “Respect the Sign” aggressive driving campaign and again highlighting the traffic signs drivers are more likely to ignore such as stop signs, speed limit signs, and yield signs.  The campaign will include high-visibility enforcement and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing aggressive driving-related traffic deaths.

OHS will conduct with four 2-week mini waves of enforcement beginning April 30th and ending in August. Enforcement will be accompanied by outreach efforts focused on reducing the top four aggressive driving behaviors that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield the right of way (not waiting for other drivers), driving left of center (unsafe lane changing) and stop sign violations.

Since January 1^st of this year there have been 27 fatal crashes in Delaware, 11 of which were caused by aggressive driving behaviors.  Just this month, 7 individuals were killed in a crash caused by either speeding or failure to grant the right of way.  In 2011, of the State’s 97 fatal crashes, 37% (37 crashes) were attributed to aggressive driving behaviors.  Of these 37 fatal crashes, a driver’s failure to grant the right of way caused 9 crashes, and speeding caused 11 crashes.

“If you are confronted by an aggressive driver, safely move out of their way, do not challenge them or make threating gestures,” said Jana Simpler, Director of OHS. “Once you are in a safe location away from ‘That Guy’, report the driver to 9-1-1 and give the vehicle & driver description, direction of travel and license plate number if you can.  Aggressive driving is dangerous and can lead to serious injury and sometimes deadly consequences.”

Public outreach and education activities along high visibility enforcement will continue to be the cornerstone of this year’s new campaign efforts. A new website www.AggressivedrivingDE.com was created where individuals can take a quiz to find out what type of driver they are, learn about the violations & penalties for aggressive driving, and how to deal with ‘that guy’ if they encounter one on the road.  Life sized traffic signs with ‘that guy’ excuse for ignoring the sign, will also be placed at select partnering locations through the state including Grottos, University of Delaware, and California Tortilla. OHS is also partnering with Lynam & Catts beach service to place floatable key chains on beach chairs for patrons to keep as a reminder to check and see if they are ‘that guy’.

Delaware State Police in all three counties, along with the New Castle County, Dover, Milford and Wilmington Police agencies will be conducting aggressive driving patrols during the 4 waves of enforcement.  Police are being asked to focus on the top four aggressive driving violations in the State of Delaware with the primary focus on drivers who fail to grant the right of way to other drivers.  Failure to grant the right of way violations include drivers who turn left in front of another vehicle, pull out in front of other vehicles at stop signs and fail to merge safely.  It is also the primary contributing factor in aggressive driving related fatal and injury crashes.

New paid media messaging focusing on aggressive driving behaviors have been developed and will be incorporated throughout the 4 waves of enforcement including cable tv, billboards, print, online advertising, posters, fliers, and table tents.

Individuals who are stopped under Delaware’s aggressive driving law can be charged both with aggressive driving and charged for each individual traffic offense.  Penalties include fines between $100 – $300 for a first offense, possible jail time, and mandatory attendance at an 8-hour behavior modification course.  Subsequent convictions will result in the loss of driving privileges for one month.   The 2011 “Respect The Sign” campaign resulted in 4,698 citations being issued for aggressive driving behaviors and 36 individuals arrested for Aggressive Driving.

For more information on Respect The Sign campaign or any of the other OHS campaigns visit www.ohs.delaware.gov, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE or follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe.

Dover  – The following checkpoint is scheduled to take place Friday as part of the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign:

Friday April 13th –   Wilmington  (NcCo DUI Task Force)

The Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign is a crackdown on impaired driving.  Delaware will be conducting 2 DUI checkpoints each month until July when weekly DUI checkpoints will resume.  This campaign is aimed at removing impaired drivers from our roadways and deterring those who might otherwise choose to drive after drinking alcohol or using drugs.

The Office of Highway Safety reminds motorists that traffic deaths kill and injure Delawareans nearly twice as often as violent crimes.

For more information on Checkpoint Strikeforce visit www.ohs.delaware.gov and follow regular campaign updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.