“Click It or Ticket” Enforcement Begins Today

The annual Click It or Ticket safety belt enforcement campaign begins today, and Fond du Lac County area Law Enforcement will join hundreds of law enforcement agencies throughout the state in making sure drivers are wearing their seat belts as they travel. Wisconsin’s seat belt use rate stands at 89 percent, which is behind neighboring states of Minnesota and Michigan, which are both over 90 percent. Wisconsin is a primary enforcement state, and Lieutenant Eric Halbach from the Sheriff’s Office says this is the 10th year that law has been in existence. “Right now in the state of Wisconsin we can stop anybody for not wearing their seatbelt,” Halbach said. “They actually switched that in 2009, so this is a 10 year anniversary, where if we see you just driving down the road, we see you without a seat belt, we can stop you for that.” Under the law, drivers can also be cited for every passenger in the car that is not buckled up.

More than 50,000 traffic convictions in Wisconsin last year for failing to fasten seat belts. Statistics also show about half of the people killed in traffic crashes in the state last year were not wearing a seat belt. Halbach says even though the enforcement campaign runs through June 2nd, sheriff’s deputies and officers from other agencies will be out enforcing the seat belt law year-round. He adds that the primary goal of the enforcement effort is voluntary compliance with the law, not to write citations.