Medfield: Fasten Your Seat Belts!

is part of a state-wide initiative that started Monday, May 23, to raise awareness of seatbelt use.

The effort will continue through June 5 and will include 190 local police departments, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division.

The high-visibility seat-belt enforcement blitz will be called by the familiar name, Click It or Ticket.

"This time each year there is an awareness campaign and enforcement is stepped up for seat belt violations," said Medfield Chief of Police Robert Meaney Jr. "Medfield does not hire additional officers for this event but does monitor seat belt compliance at any motor vehicle stop."

The campaign is aimed at emphasizing the simple message that drivers and passengers should always wear their seat belts or be ready to face the consequences.

The crackdown marks the first seat-belt enforcement mobilization across the state in 2011. It is designed to increase seat belt use and decrease motor vehicle deaths and injuries.

The enforcement will involve zero-tolerance. In other words, if you get pulled over and are not wearing a seatblet, you will get a ticket.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 52 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts in 2009 were not wearing seat belts. That is 3 percent higher than the national average.

Meaney shared his own observations regarding seat belt safety.

"During my career I have noticed that as cars are engineered better and active (seatbelts) and passive (airbags) restraint systems are used in cars; the number and severity of injuries have decreased," he said. "Seat belt use is a critical part of reducing injuries in motor vehicle crashes."

Meaney elaborated on the importance of seat belts saving lives by giving an example.

"A motor vehicle crash with an occupant (s) ejected," Meaney said. "It is very rare that the ejected person escapes that type of event without fatal or serious injuries. I have seen numerous crashes, involving a partial or complete rollover of the vehicle where the occupants were standing outside the car waiting for us to arrive because they were wearing their seat belts."

Other local police and state are sharing a federal grant to conduct this Click It or Ticket heightened enforcement.

If you are pulled over for violating traffic laws, law enforcement will check to make sure drivers and passengers are wearing seat belts. No excuses.

For more information, please visit www.mass.gov/highwaysafety.