Click It or Ticket Campaign Begins in Iowa

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Click It or Ticket Campaign Begins in Iowa

Courtesy Iowa DOT

By Becky Ogann

AMES - From May 19 to June 1 the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will use permanent dynamic message signs to remind Iowans to “Click It or Ticket – Day and Night.” The signs are located in Ames, Mason City, Sioux City, Iowa City, Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities, and the Des Moines metro area.

The signs will be in operation to support a law enforcement effort encouraging the use of safety belts anytime drivers or passengers are in a moving vehicle.

The campaign is part of Iowa 's special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP), a coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies to increase highway safety. Iowa DOT motor vehicle officers will join more than 200 state law enforcement agencies in an effort targeted to increase seat belt usage in all vehicles.

In 2006, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 15,046 passenger vehicle occupants were killed between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of those killed at night were not wearing seat belts compared to less than half (46 percent) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during daytime hours.

Along with nighttime motorists, young men were least likely to buckle up overall. In 2006, 73 percent of males between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.

In fact, all young people are at an increased risk of serious injury or death from motor vehicle crashes. Sixty-four percent of teenagers killed in crashes during 2006 were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crashes. And the 2006 observed seat belt usage rate of those ages 16 to 24 was lower than any other age group.

Notices will be displayed from May 19 to June 1 in accordance with the following schedule (subject to override by critical traffic safety notices or Amber Alerts):

Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.

This is the second of four special enforcement efforts scheduled for 2008. Iowa 's next sTEP wave is set for July 3-6.
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Friday, May 30 at 12:39 PM Anonymous wrote ...

Only hurting yourself...tell that to the family who gets to see your dead bloody body laying next to their car because you were thrown out. Or to your passengers who were killed because you were not wearing your seat belt and your body smashed into them. Dont want to wear it, fine. just stop your whining when you get the ticket.

Wednesday, May 21 at 12:36 PM Anonymous wrote ...

tax season again!!!! i wish the tax collectors(police) could stop carrying weapons.... it kinda scares me. what a waist of my money, all these unnecessary laws to protect the DEE DEE DEEs

Wednesday, May 21 at 12:33 PM Anonymous wrote ...

They have made there point I am staying off the roads and ruining the economies of the places dependent on tourism!!!

Wednesday, May 21 at 12:15 PM Get over it wrote ...

Get used to wearing the belt and it becomes second nature. Proof is seatbelts save lives. Reducing the fine to $10 will cause more to break the law because it isn't that much $. I subscribe to that idea when I park at an expired meter and go with the hope that the meter maid has passed already. I would love to see more police catching speeders, etc. but if there are laws, shouldn't we all be following them? Obviously not because many of you posting here have already admitted you break the law!

Tuesday, May 20 at 4:16 PM clickit wrote ...

suck my ticket

Tuesday, May 20 at 10:59 AM What a deal! wrote ...

The cops get to sit in their air conditioned cars with the engines running all day (they don't have to buy their own gas, you see), and wait for the radar gun alarm to go off. Then ka-ching ... it's time to put on the fashion sunglasses and extort another $83 for the law enforcement retirement fund. The hardest part for them is looking tough and pretending to care about your "safety" without laughing. I guess nobody said being a being a traffic cop checking seat belts would be easy.

Tuesday, May 20 at 6:03 AM IMNION wrote ...

It's a revenue thing for them. Why does it have to be $83? Let it be $10. Nobody wants to get stopped by the cops. The percentage of people not wearing seatbelts would be the same. If they care about our safety, just park out there in plain view. Everybody will slow down. Instead they hide somewhere hoping to catch someone and write a ticket. Like I said...All about revenue and ticket quotas.

Tuesday, May 20 at 2:33 AM Anonymous wrote ...

What do you need to worry about? Do you wear it? If so, then don't worry about it. Its generating revenue for those that don't abide by the law, so let it run it's course.

Monday, May 19 at 10:41 PM Anonymous wrote ...

I got a 83$ ticket for not wearing my seat belt, I believe its only hurting ourselves if we do not wear our seat belts,it sould be our choice, they can suggest we wear one but ticketing you for it is crazy, 83$!!!!

Monday, May 19 at 9:05 PM Low rider wrote ...

Revenue for the state in the name of saving lives. It's hammered down us-we all wear our seatbelts. A big bonus if they find something else to write you up for. Go cops.

Monday, May 19 at 8:00 PM Anonymous wrote ...

So how much did this cost taxpayers? How about fixing more of the roads so that there would be less accidents?

Monday, May 19 at 7:55 PM snickers wrote ...

"why" Sometimes they are just to busy chasing doughnut trucks.

Monday, May 19 at 7:53 PM ken wrote ...

They do it to make them feel better,like there doing something.A couple years ago I was coming from Oelwien and got off on county home road and there at center point road and county home road was a state trooper watching for seat belt usage. While the people on 380 was speeding.Go figure.

Monday, May 19 at 6:51 PM Why? wrote ...

Why do police need a special enforement effort to uphold the law. Shouldnt they be doing this all the time anyways?

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