A big change is underway for Washington's Click it or Ticket campaign, and it just might change seatbelt enforcement efforts throughout the United States. For the first time since the project's inception, seatbelt patrols are moving to nighttime hours, starting Monday, May 21.
"Many people think that law enforcement can't see unbuckled motorists at night, so seatbelt use is lower, and consequently the nighttime death rate is four times what it is during the day," said Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC). "This project will change that."
Patrolling for seat belt violators is more difficult at night. However the Washington State Patrol has pioneered an enforcement that involves both an observational officer and several pursuit vehicles. Once an unbuckled motorist is spotted, the observing officer radios ahead to the pursuit vehicle to make the stop.
"We know that people are most at risk of dying in a severe collision at night because more risky driving behavior takes place at night: more impaired driving, reckless driving and speeding, for example," said Powell. "So it makes sense to direct our law enforcement resources to a time and place where they will do the most good."
This new project is being funded by the WTSC with a special federal pilot grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA will conduct research on the results of the project to determine if it raises seatbelt use at night. An observational survey of daytime and nighttime seat belt use will precede and follow the project. In addition, interviews of unbuckled motorists will be conducted.
Currently Washington has the highest seatbelt use ever recorded in the United States and the world: 96.3 percent. This use rate was determined by a statewide observational survey done in June 2006 and involving 105,720 vehicle drivers and passengers in 19 counties on a variety or road types following research protocols established by NHTSA.
The nation's seatbelt-use average is 81 percent.
For additional information about the WTSC, visit www.wtsc.wa.gov[[In-content Ad]]
