Sugar Land Police Department completes Click It or Ticket program

The Sugar Land Police Department has released the results of its 14-day seatbelt enforcement campaign.

Seat belt usage at targeted locations increased 2.9 percent to 96.72 percent compliance during the Click It or Ticket program, which ran from May 21 to June 3.

“A majority of people have gotten the message, but many have not,” said Sgt. Wayne Coleman, of Sugar Land Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Division, in a press release. “Tragic crashes can and do happen every day. Our job is to save lives, and we want everyone to have the best chance of surviving a fatal crash by always buckling up.”

High-visibility enforcement is credited with increasing the national belt usage rate from 58 percent in 1994 to 84 percent in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA statistics show that in 2010 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,546 lives nationwide.

“The annual Click It or Ticket mobilization may be over, but that is no excuse to stop using your seat belt,” said Coleman. “Don’t forget to buckle up and please encourage those around you to always do the same.”

Enforcement was funded by a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program grant from the Texas Department of Transportation, which paid the overtime to put additional officers on the street.

A separate STEP grant for speed enforcement also continues along major thoroughfares.