Political Quotes

“Buckle Up America Week marks a high point in our push for greater seat belt and child safety seat use. This week kicks off a massive $20 million "Click It or Ticket" mobilization, the largest-ever nationwide law enforcement program to increase safety belt use. More than 12,000 law enforcement agencies in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will conduct safety belt checkpoints as part of the mobilization. This year, the effort is specifically targeting one of our most at-risk populations: teenagers. Due in large part to low seat belt use, fatality rates for teen drivers are four times higher than for older drivers. In 2002, 4,942 16- to 19-year-old teens were killed in traffic crashes, and thousands more were injured. Two out of the five deaths among teens are the result of a traffic crash. Today, safety belt use stands at 75 percent of the general population, but less than 69 percent for teens. We know the way to increase seat belt use is through strong laws and high visibility enforcement. Prior campaigns of this kind have produced a 9 percent overall increase in seat belt use. So today we begin by putting people on notice to click it or expect a ticket. The campaign runs through June 1st.”