From May 18th to 30th, Lexington will participate in the Click It or Ticket campaign.
Funded by federal grants, the program provides officers with overtime pay for patrols dedicated to seatbelt enforcement. Members of Lexington’s Division of Police are on the lookout for individuals who are driving unbuckled, and will fine violators $25. Sgt. Scott Perrine says reactions to the citation can vary.
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“Normally when you pull them over, they’ll kind of put their head down and they’ll say “yes officer, you’re right. I’m sorry,” or they’ll try to pull a fast one on you and try to slide it over and try to sneak it on as you’re walking up to the car, do the old stretch and yawn and pull it over.”
However, Perrine emphasized that the program is very much geared toward saving lives. Perrine recalls an accident on the interstate where a vehicle veered into an embankment.
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“When it rolled, the driver was not wearing her seatbelt. It ejected her out on the interstate where she was struck and killed and that’s 100% reason why the seatbelt needs to be warn because she would have been fine just like the passenger, the passenger just had a bruise on her arm and that was it.”
More information on the campaign, as well as proper seat belt use, can be found online at the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
