EPD takes part in nationwide 'Click It or Ticket' campaign

Having just wrapped up a campaign that targeted impaired driving, the El Dorado Police Department has moved on to its next concentrated effort — one with a familiar slogan.

“Click It or Ticket: Day & Night," which is aimed at enforcement of seat belt usage, began Monday, days ahead of Memorial Day weekend and the start of a busy travel season, law enforcement officers said.

The campaign will run until June 3.

Lt. Kenny Hickman, of the EPD, said the police department is joining the nationwide effort to crack down on unrestrained driving.

While “Click It or Ticket,” a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety initiative, has been promoted by law enforcement agencies around the nation for the past several years, Hickman said the latest large-scale mobilization effort will focus, in part, on nighttime driving.

According to information provided by the NHTSA for 2016, nearly half of the people who were killed in traffic crashes involving passenger vehicles were unrestrained.

The number rose to 56 percent between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.

Nearly twice as many males, as compared to females, were killed in crashes.

Lower rates of seat-belt usage were also reported among males. Of the males who died in crashes in 2016, 52 percent were unrestrained.

Law enforcement agencies who are participating in “Click It or Ticket: Day & Night” will take a “no-excuses approach” to seat belt enforcement, and officers will write citations for violations throughout the day and night, NHTSA officials said.

The EPD will be among them, added Hickman, noting that the average seat belt usage rates for El Dorado fall 10 percent below the state average and has remained that way for the past several years.

The purpose of “Click It or Ticket: Day & Night” is two-fold, he said.

“Buckling up is such a simple task that can keep you and your family safe in the car,” Hickman said.

“But it’s more than that. Buckling up is the law. Our law enforcement personnel see the consequences of not buckling up. We see the loss of life,” he continued. “Often, it could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt. This should be automatic.”

He implored citizens to encourage friends and family members to change their habits if they do not typically use seat belts while driving.

“It is our sincere hope that citizens and visitors in El Dorado will help us spread this life-saving message before one more friend or family member is killed or injured seriously as a result of inaction,” he said.

In Arkansas, seat belt laws are primary, meaning that drivers and front-seat passengers who are 15 and older must be properly restrained.

Children under 15 must also be properly restrained and children younger than 6 years old and below 60 pounds must be secured in a federally approved car seat or booster.

Last month, the EPD participated in a six-state enforcement mobilization campaign to reduce incidents of impaired driving.

Hickman said fewer traffic accidents were reported between April 20 and 22 in El Dorado. Several traffic stops resulted in drug-related arrests, he said.

At the time, Hickman said mobilization campaigns targeting seat belt and DWI enforcement were forthcoming.

Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at [email protected].

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