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Seat Belt Safety Initiative Week (Click It Or Ticket) begins the week of May 18, 2015. Since 2009, not wearing a seat belt has become a primary enforcement offense. A primary enforcement offense means that law enforcement officers may pull motorists over just because the driver or a passenger covered by the law is not wearing a seat belt. Prior to 2009 not wearing a seat belt was a secondary offense, and law enforcement officers had to first stop a motorist for another offense, then address the seat belt issue. Experts have found that seat belt use is lower in states where the offense is a secondary offense.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reports that in the United States, motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death among those who are aged 1 - 54 and that because of being injured in motor vehicles accidents in 2012, more than 2.2 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency rooms. The Journal of Safety Research in 2012 said that millions of adults still do not wear their seat belts on every trip in spite of the fact that adult seat belt use is the most effective way to reduce accident injuries and save lives.

Statistics from the CDC shows who are least likely to wear seat belts:

• Adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are less likely to wear seat belts than adults 35 and over.
• 55% of teens between 12 and 20 who died in crashes in 2012 were not wearing seat belts when the crashes happened.
• Women were 90% more likely to wear seat belts than men.
• Rural area adults were 10 percent less likely to wear seat belts than urban/suburban adults.

Collier County is conducting the 'Click It Or Ticket' campaign to "...increase safety belt use and reduce fatalities on Florida's roadways." Collier County deputies will be patrolling county roads prepared to remind motorists that seat belts are mandatory and to ticket them should they not be wearing  seat belts, and there is a fine for not wearing a seat belt.

Basics of seat belt safety (Collier County Sheriff's Office):

• The driver and front-seat passenger must wear a seat belt.
• Anyone younger than 18 must wear a seat belt no matter where they are sitting.
• Children 12 and younger should ride in the back seat for safety.
• Children from birth to 80 pounds and 4 feet 9 inches tall should ride either in a car seat or a booster seat, depending on their age.
• A ticket for a violation of child restraint violations will cost you $163.

The National Highway Traffic & Highway Administration (NHTSA) started the 'Click It Or Ticket' campaign to bring an awareness to the issue of wearing seat belts. As part of the campaign, they recommend that:

Drivers and passengers can:

• Always wear your seat belt.
• Insist everyone buckles up before the vehicle moves. This includes those in the back seas.

Parents can:

• Be good role models for young drivers and set good examples.
• Speak with teens about why they need to fasten their seat belts and when they ride with other teens.

Employers can:

• Adopt, publicize and enforce a company policy requiring employees and their passengers to wear seat belts no matter where they are sitting in the vehicle.
• Conduct an informal seat belt survey at the beginning of end of a workday and report the belt usage compared with Florida' rate.

"Wearing a seat belt every time one enters a vehicle of any kind; car, SUV, truck, minivan, etc., needs to become a habit, an automatic action before a vehicle moves. By doing so, more lives may be saved and injuries prevented," said Naples Personal Injury Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Naples Accident Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839,or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.