Border 2 Border National Seat Belt Initiative on May 20

Joint Effort Targets Unbuckled Motorists in Maryland, Delaware
Buckle Up, Every Seat, Every Time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: 
Cynthia Cavett, Delaware Office of Highway Safety (302) 744-2743

DOVER, DE (May 15, 2019) – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (DOHS) and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) are partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), state and local law enforcement to kick off the annual Click It or Ticket seat belt safety campaign with Border 2 Border (B2B), a 1-day national seat belt awareness event on May 20.

“Buckling your seat belt is probably the single easiest thing you can do to protect yourself when you get in your car to drive. Delaware has a high seat belt use rate, however in 2018, 53 percent of vehicle occupants killed were unbuckled,” said Christopher Klein, Deputy Principal Assistant, Department of Safety & Homeland Security & DOHS, Acting Director.

In Delaware, 92.4 percent of drivers and front-seat passengers wear seat belts. For Maryland, 90.3 percent of drivers and front-seat passengers wear seat belts when traveling on state roadways, which is down from 92 percent in 2017. One in three occupants who die in a motor vehicle crash each year are unbelted.

“The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (DOHS) is happy to partner with the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s (MDOT MVA) Highway Safety Office and agencies across the country to promote the “border-to-border” enforcement.  Law enforcement agencies in all three Delaware counties are working together to enforce Delaware’s primary laws for seat belts and child passenger safety to coincide with the national Click-It-or-Ticket initiative. It only takes 3 seconds to click it!” Sarah Cattie, DOHS Occupant Protection Program Manager.

Law enforcement across the region will join a multi-state seat belt enforcement effort on May 20 to initiate the Border 2 Border (B2B) 2019 initiative which includes a four-hour enforcement crackdown in each state. Local and national ads will run on billboards, television, radio and online through early June to generate awareness of this stepped-up enforcement.

“The 3 seconds it takes to buckle your seat belt could save your life,” said Christine Nizer, MDOT Motor Vehicle Administrator and Governor Larry Hogan’s Highway Safety Representative. “The driver sets the example – we’ve found that passengers are much more likely to buckle up if the driver does.”

Unbuckled passengers can become projectiles in a crash, causing serious or fatal injuries to others in the car. In 2018, only 70 percent of back seat occupants in cars, SUVs, and pick-up trucks were buckled up in Maryland.

“Highway safety is one of the most important issues we face daily,” said Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police. “As we work to reduce crash deaths and injuries in our state and region, troopers will increase their vigilance, focusing especially on motorists violating the seat belt law.”

It’s the Law!
In Delaware: Driver will be cited for anyone in the car not wearing a seat belt or properly restraining a child. This is a primary offense. The penalty is $25 but with court costs and fees, the ticket will be $83.50.
 
In Maryland: Every driver and passenger must wear a seat belt. Children under the age of eight must be in a proper booster or child safety seat. Each person not buckled will receive an $83 citation.

About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (DOHS)
The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is committed to improving the safety of Delaware’s motoring public by focusing on behavioral traffic safety issues such as impaired driving, seat belt use, speeding, child passenger safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, and teen driving issues. FAQs can be found at ArriveAliveDE.com.

About the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA)
Learn more about the Maryland Highway Safety Office’s Toward Zero Deaths campaign at towardzerodeathsmd.com, on Facebook at TowardZeroDeathsMD, on Twitter at @tzd_maryland and on Instagram at twdzerodeaths_md.  

Dave makes some terrible decisions—especially while driving. So buckle up. Wearing your seat belt can help protect you from drivers like Dave. Please feel free to share this video. Use the hashtags #CIOT and #ArriveAliveDE.

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Your safety is in your hands. Buckle Up.

Dover – Once again, the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) and law enforcement across Delaware are reminding motorists that your safety is in your hands and to always buckle up as the Click It or Ticket campaign kicks off May 11. As part of the national seat belt enforcement campaign, Delaware law enforcement agencies will be stepping up enforcement May 11 through 25, just prior to one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

“Every day, unbuckled motorists lose their lives in motor vehicle crashes,” said Kim Chesser, OHS Occupant Protection program manager. “As we approach Memorial Day weekend and the summer vacation season, we want to remind people to buckle up.  Buckling up will keep you from getting a ticket, and more importantly, it could save your life.”

Whether you’re the driver or a passenger, Delaware law requires everyone in the vehicle to buckle up every trip, every time.  The cost of not using one just isn’t worth it. Motorists who are not in compliance with state seat belt laws face fines and court costs up to $83.50.

The Click It or Ticket campaign is credited with motivating millions of motorists to always use their seat belts.  Only 71 percent of Delawareans used seat belts when the campaign began in 2002.  Today 92 percent of Delawareans buckle up.  In 2014, there were 35 fatalities in Delaware resulting from crashes in which drivers or passengers were not wearing seat belts.  Wearing a seat belt increases the chances of surviving a serious crash by 50 percent.  In pickup trucks, that number jump to 60 percent as those vehicles are more likely than cars to roll over in a crash.  In roll over crashes, seat belts help keep occupants from being ejected from the vehicles.

In addition to stepped-up enforcement, Click It or Ticket will include paid media in the form of TV, billboards, online advertising, and more.  OHS will also promote seat belt safety through community outreach, social media, and public awareness activities including seat belt checks, dispelling the myths of non-seat belt users on www.buckleupde.org, seat belt educational activities at Dover International Speedway, and a seat belt challenge to all the high schools in Delaware.

The OHS will be conducting a contest among Delaware high schools to see which one has the highest increase in seat belt use.  Each school resource officer (SRO) will be asked to conduct a seat belt check, then recruit a team of student volunteers to conduct seat belt educational activities and outreach for one week in their respective high schools. The SRO will then conduct another seat belt check and the school with the highest percentage increase in seat belt use will win.  The winning SRO will be the Grand Marshal for the Buckle Up 200 presented by the Click It or Ticket NASCAR Xfinity series race on Saturday May 30^th at Dover International Speedway.  The winning team of student volunteers will receive a pizza party donated by Grottos pizza and the winning school will receive a banner to display outside their school and on their website.

Dover International Speedway has partnered with OHS to promote seat belt use and awareness through a social media contest providing fans the opportunity to win tickets to the Saturday, May 30, 2015 “Buckle Up 200” presented by the Click It or Ticket NASCAR XFINITY Series race.  To enter, simply take a photo of yourself or your passengers wearing a seatbelt in your vehicle and post it to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #BuckleUpSelfie! Your vehicle should not be in motion while taking the picture. 

One random winner will be selected to receive:
• Two (2) tickets for the “Buckle Up 200” presented by Click It or Ticket
• Two (2) pit passes
• Two (2) tickets to The Pit Stop
• The opportunity to be on stage during driver introductions
• A chance to be in Victory Lane after the race

Get the seat belt facts:

• Delaware law enforcement issue an average of 998 seat belt tickets per month
• May, June, July are the months with the most seat belt tickets written in Delaware
• Each individual fatality costs society $1.4 million dollars
• From 2008-2012 seat belts saved nearly 63,000 lives
• Most crashes happen within 25 miles of home. Always buckle up.

Learn more about seat belts by visiting www.buckleupde.org.

You would never get into a roller coaster without putting on a seat belt, so why would you get into a car without wearing one? OHS wants to remind everyone that speed thrills but it also kills.

What you need to know

Did you know that a crash at just 40 mph has the same impact as falling from a six-story building? Here are some facts that you need to know:

• 124 people lost their lives on Delaware roadways in 2014.
• Speed was the primary contributing factor in almost 40% of these fatal car crashes.
• Most speed related crashes occurred on roads that had a 50 mph speed limit.

What you can do

Speed and curves are a thrilling combination on a roller coaster. But in a car, they are a deadly combination, especially if you’re not wearing a seat belt. To keep yourself and the other passengers in your vehicle safe, take the following safety precautions:

• Buckle up. Just like when you board a roller coaster, it doesn’t matter if you are in the front seat or the back seat, everyone should be buckled safely before the vehicle moves.
• Be alert. A roller coaster is designed to travel safely on a carefully engineered track. Motor vehicles are controlled by the operator who must watch for signs and then obey those signs.

Speeding greatly reduces the driver’s ability to slow a vehicle when necessary or to steer safely around an unexpected curve, another vehicle or hazardous object in the roadway. There is a reason for posted speed limits. They are designed to protect everyone: drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

And if you need another caution sign, Delaware law enforcement officers are on the lookout to slow down speeding drivers and ensure all motorists are buckled up. Don’t take the risk. Speed thrills but it also kills.

Slow Down. Buckle Up. Arrive Alive DE.

With summer over and school back in session, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is reminding motorists to drive safe this fall and save a life by buckling up and slowing down on Delaware roadways.

What you need to know

Did you know that Delaware crash data for this year suggests that speed and improper seat belt use are major contributors in the number of fatalities this year? And the numbers are up. It’s mid-October, and the number of traffic deaths this year has already exceeded the total number of people killed last year on Delaware roadways.

From January 1 through October 17, there have been 102 traffic fatalities in Delaware.

• Sixty seven (67) were vehicle occupants. 42% were not wearing a seat belt.
• Aggressive driving behaviors, like speeding, contributed to 37% of the crashes to date this year.
• In 2013, 40% of the unbelted crashes happened on a Saturday or Sunday.  Saturday is also the most common day for speed-related fatal crashes and Friday has the highest number of speed-related injury crashes.

What you can do

Even one life lost on our roadways is one too many. In an effort to prevent more deaths, OHS has put a new campaign in place that will focus on proper seat belt use and slowing down.

Campaign dates: October 3^rd – 26^th and November 26^th – December 31^st.

• Enforcement:   Police will be looking for speeding drivers and anyone unrestrained or improperly restrained in vehicles. Remember, for a seat belt to be effective and save a life, it must be worn properly with the lap belt low and snug across the hips and the shoulder harness worn across the shoulder and chest with minimal slack.
• Public outreach: OHS has launched a contest on the OHS Facebook page www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE to engage the public about buckling up and slowing down. There will be one puzzle per week during October and December with weekly prizes, including an AAA membership and a guided tour of Dover Air Force Base’s AMC Museum.

For more information, visit www.ohs.delaware.gov. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Drive Safe. Arrive Alive DE.

Dover – With summer over and school back in session, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is reminding motorists to drive safe this fall and save a life by buckling up and slowing down on Delaware roadways. The campaign will include high-visibility enforcement and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing traffic deaths through speed and seat belt enforcement from October 3^rd – 26^th and November 26^th – December 31^st.

Since January 1^st of this year there have been 98 traffic fatalities in Delaware. Sixty five (65) were vehicle occupants of which 43% were not wearing a seat belt. In 2013, 40% of the unbelted crashes happened on a Saturday or Sunday. Saturday is also the most common day for speed related fatal crashes and Friday has the highest number of speed related injury crashes.

Public outreach and education activities will accompany the high-visibility enforcement activities. A digital paid media buy will spread the message on various website, including Pandora radio, with banner and audio ads. Messages will be placed on variable message boards throughout the state through a partnership with DelDOT to remind motorists to buckle up and slow down. OHS will also launch a contest tomorrow (Oct 9^th) on the OHS Facebook page www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE to engage the public about buckling up and slowing down. There will be one puzzle a week during October and December with weekly prizes.

Delaware State Police in all three counties, along with law enforcement from the Delaware River and Bay Authority, Dover PD, Middletown PD, Milford PD, New Castle City PD, New Castle County PD, Newark PD, Newport PD, Seaford PD, Smyrna PD, and Wilmington PD will be conducting enforcement patrols throughout the campaign. Police are being asked to focus on unrestrained occupants, improperly restraint occupants in vehicles, and speeding drivers. Examples of improperly worn seat belts are those that are put behind the back or under the arm. For a seat belt to be effective and save a life, it must be worn properly with the lap belt low and snug across the hips and the shoulder harness worn across the shoulder and chest with minimal slack.

For more information on any OHS campaign visit www.ohs.delaware.gov, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE or follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe.