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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NHTSA Region 3 and Law enforcement Agencies Kick Off CLICK IT OR TICKET and MOVE OVER LAW DAY

Campaign also reminds drivers of mandatory “Move Over Laws” to protect law enforcement doing their jobs roadside

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

DOVER, DE (May 16, 2019) — As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and District of Columbia law enforcement agencies will join forces to remind drivers and passengers of the importance of seat belt use, while also highlighting their “Move Over” laws.

“Hundreds of DelDOT employees are out working on and around our roads every day and vehicles moving over when they see our crews increases safety for both our workers and the traveling public,” said Secretary of Transportation, Jennifer Cohan.

New to the region’s Click it or Ticket campaign this year, May 13 to June 2, is a reminder of the dangers first responders and roadway workers face while stopped on the roadways.  All 50 States have enacted “Move Over” laws, but very few Americans know they exist.
 
“With the recent crashes on 301 and the William V. Roth, Jr. Bridge in St. Georges City, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety cannot overstate the importance of compliance with the Move Over Law as it directly relates to the safety of our first responders and other response and utility personnel covered in the law. Please familiarize yourself with these laws and move over,” Department of Safety and Homeland Security Deputy Principal Assistant, and Delaware Office of Highway Safety Acting Director, Christopher Klein.

“AAA is in the business of rescuing millions of stranded motorists across the country, including more than 70,000 in Delaware, each year. At the heart of this effort are service technicians and tow truck operators who put their lives at risk each time they respond to a member’s call for help. AAA encourages all drivers to slow down and move over for police, firefighters, emergency medical service crews, utility and municipal fleets, and tow operators working at the roadside,” Ken Grant, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Today’s emphasis on Move Over laws coincides with the conclusion of Police Week, which pays tribute to the local, State, and Federal law enforcement officers who serve and protect us with courage and dedication.

Thousands of Americans are alive today thanks to strong state laws, the Click It or Ticket enforcement and paid media effort, and the year-round “Buckle Up America” campaigns.
 
In 2017, the use of seat belts in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives of occupants 5 and older. From 2013–2017, belt use is estimated to have saved almost 70,000 lives.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/click-it-or-ticket. Click here for information on Move Over Laws and here for the Delaware Move Over Law in Section 4134 of Title 21, Chap. 41.

NASCAR Driver Ross Chastain sits down with highway safety super fan John Q. Rhodes at The Dover International Speedway for an exclusive discussion on seat belt safety.

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Cynthia Cavett, Delaware Office of Highway Safety, (302) 744-2743
Kellie Boulware, MDOT MVA, 410-762-5188
Brandy Brubaker, Virginia DMV, 804-367-6834

Joint Effort Targets Impaired Drivers Along US 13 and US 113 in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia

Dover, DE (March 15, 2019) – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety, Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA), law enforcement and transportation officials from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, have partnered for the second year to save lives on our roadways during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Law enforcement from 36 agencies across the three states will team up for a High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) effort on US 13 and US 113 throughout the Delmarva Peninsula.

In 2017, there were 39 DUI-related fatal crashes in the state of Delaware and 3,997 DUI arrests. In 2018, there were two DUI-related fatalities during St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Over the last five years, a total of 228 impaired driving arrests occurred for the same holiday period.

“All of us here at the Delaware Office of Highway Safety would like to thank our partner agencies for working together to have a greater impact on reducing impaired driving. It is through coordinated efforts like this along US 13 and US 113, that we can increase awareness and safety for all motorists on our roads,” said Richard Klepner, Delaware Office of Highway Safety, Impaired Driving Program Manager. Delaware motorists can text “saferide” to 99000 for a link to download Lyft and Uber apps or get a list of local companies providing safe rides. The state of Maryland is conducting multiple enforcements on US 13 where there were 138 crashes from 2013 – 2016 resulting from alcohol and/or drug impairment. During last year’s effort participating agencies in Maryland issued 125 citations, including 45 for speeding, and made four impaired driving arrests.

“This effort is a great example of state and local law enforcement agencies joining forces to save lives on our roadways,” said Chrissy Nizer, Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) Administrator.

In Virginia, there were 278 alcohol-related fatalities in 2018, which is 34 percent of overall traffic deaths. The chance of being in an alcohol-related crash in Virginia is one-in-six over the course of a lifetime.

“Reducing and ultimately eliminating drunk driving will go a long way toward reaching our goal of zero deaths on Virginia roadways,” said Virginia DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “Law enforcement agencies partnering across state lines sends a strong message to drivers — we are committed to saving lives and vow to work together to make our roadways safer for everyone.”

Saturation patrols will run throughout the US 13 and US 113 corridors in the three states with law enforcement on the lookout for impaired drivers. US 13 is comprised of 289 total miles – 137 in Virginia; 103 in Delaware; and 49 in Maryland. It houses approximately 150 establishments with liquor licenses along its length in Maryland alone.

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About the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
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.