May 6, 2008

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois State Police (ISP), and local law enforcement agencies will conduct the largest Click It or Ticket (CIOT) mobilization in the state's history during the month of May. While Illinois motorists have exceeded the 90 percent mark for seatbelt usage, the aim of the new campaign is to save more lives and by pushing for 100 percent compliance.

The announcement comes at the 5th anniversary of the signing the primary safety belt law in 2003. Statewide safety belt compliance has increased 14 percentage points from 76.2 percent in 2003 to 90.1 percent in 2007. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the increase in safety belt compliance also represents $459,588,303 in economic costs saved.

During this Click It or Ticket mobilization over 500 local, state and county law enforcement agencies will dedicate over 15,000 hours enforcement details between May 1 and June 1, 2008. The Illinois Click It or Ticket mobilization will be supported by a projected $800,000 in paid advertising to convince all motorists to buckle up while driving both day and night.

NHTSA estimates safety belt compliance drops by approximately 10 percentage points at night. Even though only 25 percent of travel occurs at night, the fatality rate per vehicle mile of travel is about three times higher at night than during the day. Nationwide, nearly half of motor vehicle fatalities occur at night. IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety (DTS) will focus on raising the nighttime safety belt compliance to 90.1 percent by challenging law enforcement agencies to hold 25 percent of enforcement at night.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket campaign, or to download outreach materials for use in your community, please visit www.buckleupillinois.org.