As the national Click It or Ticket Campaign approaches, the V.I. Police Department and the V.I. Office of Highway Safety are joining the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in urging drivers to support buckling up when getting behind the wheel.
This seat belt enforcement effort coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, which runs from May 20 to June 2, according to the press release.
“We want seat belt use to be an automatic habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said VIPD Commissioner Ray Martinez. “It’s not just a safe thing to do — it’s the law. During the Click It or Ticket campaign, law enforcement officers across the territory will ensure that the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the preventable loss of life.”
The 2023 local seat belt compliance rate of 68.2 percent, when compared to the national rate of 91.9 percent, exposes a reckless traffic safety culture in the VI. This risk is passed on to child passengers; the 2023 survey showed that over 66.9 percent of children under age 13 rode either under restraint (without appropriate child safety restraint) or unrestrained. Law enforcement will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law compliance, writing citations day and night, the press release stated.
“If the enforcement effort alerts people to the dangers of unrestrained driving, we’ll consider our mission to be a success,” said VIOHS Director, Daphne O’Neal. “If you know a friend or a family member who does not buckle up when they drive, please ask them to change their habits. Help us spread this lifesaving message before another friend or family member is killed as a result of this senseless inaction. Seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to buckle up.”
For more information on the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization, please visit NHTSA.gov/ClickIt. You may also contact the Virgin Islands Office of Highway Safety through Director Daphne O’Neal at daphne.oneal@vipd.vi.gov, Occupant Protection Planner/Coordinator Denise Gomes at denise.gomes@vipd.vi.gov, or via telephone at
340-772-3025 or 340-473-7383.
