The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for the national “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign to remind drivers to make sure they always wear a seatbelt.
Additionally, the campaign also urges drivers to make sure children are properly restrained in a child safety seat that meets the manufacturer’s guidelines for the child’s height and weight.
The statewide effort to enforce Georgia’s seat belt and child passenger safety laws will begin Monday and go through Memorial Day weekend in an effort to save lives in the event of a traffic crash.
According to the department, Georgia law requires all front-seat passengers in all vehicles to wear a seat belt, all children between eight and 15 to wear a seat belt when riding in the front and back seat and children ages seven and under to ride in a child safety seat that is recommended by the manufacturer based on height and weight of the child.
“One of the most difficult things for law enforcement officers is investigating a traffic crash where the victim or victims likely would have survived had they been wearing a seat belt,” HCSO Traffic Unit Sergeant Jeremy Cooksey said. “One of many reasons to buckle up is your family and friends. Vehicles can be repaired or replaced, but lives cannot.”
The department also said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 1,786 people died in traffic crashes in Georgia in 2022, which is a 20 percent increase over a five-year period when 1,505 people were killed in traffic crashes in the state in 2018. Additionally, 56 percent of the people killed in passenger vehicle crashes in Georgia in 2021 were not wearing seat belts. The number of people not wearing a seatbelt who were killed in passenger vehicle crashes in Georgia has increased by 20 percent over a five-year period from 2017 to 2021. Wearing a seatbelt in the front seat of a passenger car can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent, and using a seat belt reduces the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent for those wearing one in a light truck, according to NHTSA.
The state said daytime seatbelt usage has decreased from 97 percent in 2017 to 94 percent in 2021.
The sheriff’s office emphasized that seatbelts are the most effective safety equipment in any vehicle and that airbags are designed to work based on the assumption that passengers are restrained by a seatbelt.
“Mistakes happen on the road every day, and the goal is for everyone to be able to walk away when a mistake behind the wheel leads to a crash,” Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Director Allen Poole said. “Seat belts offer the best protection to anyone riding in a vehicle in the event of a crash, and taking a few seconds to buckle a seat belt before every trip could one day save your life or the life of a family member or friend.”
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office offer these safe driving tips:
1. Drive at safe and reasonable speeds, and never speed to make up time.
2. Buckle up before starting your vehicle.
3. Avoid distractions such as phones, conversations and reaching for items in your vehicle.
4. Program navigation devices before getting on the road.
5. Do not drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Monday will also be the beginning of the “100 Days of Summer HEAT” initiative that will run through Labor Day weekend. During this time, HCSO, along with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will remind drivers to make the summer travel period safer by driving the speed limit, avoiding distractions, especially phones, never driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and always wearing a seat belt.
