Delaware seat belt campaign aims for safety
By DOVER - The Delaware Office of Highway has launched a high visibility enforcement campaign to ensure drivers and passengers buckle their seat belts for safety purposes, a news release said.
The ongoing campaign is being conducted in partnership with local and state police through June 9, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety said.
The Delaware Office of Highway Safety noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s national Click It or Ticket enforcement effort is ongoing as well.
:“Over the past year in Delaware, 39 % of people that were killed in crashes were not wearing a seat belt,” Delaware Office of Highway Safety Director Kimberly Chesser said.
“We see the consequences of not wearing a seat belt all too often, resulting in loss of life when it could have easily been prevented. It’s imperative we get the message out about the importance of seat belt safety to prevent these tragedies from happening.”
In Delaware, the worst time for unrestrained crashes has historically been during the summer months. Between 2018 and 2022, 27% of unrestrained crashes occurred between June and August and 10% of those crashes happened in July alone. The rising trend continued in 2022, trending up 6% from the previous year. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.
Consequences of not wearing a seat belt include:
• Buckling up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle, whereas not buckling up can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly.
• Airbags are not enough to protect you; in fact, the force of an airbag can seriously injure or even kill you if you’re not properly buckled up.
• Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below your arm, puts you and your children at risk in a crash.
Guidelines to buckle up safely
• The lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which are better able to withstand crash forces than other parts of your body.
• Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
• The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
• Never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.
• Children whose caregivers buckle up are much more likely to buckle up themselves.
For more information on the campaign, statistics, and education visit arrivealivede.com/buckle-up.
