AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – TxDOT’s 18th annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign encouraging Texans to buckle up on the road begins Monday.
According to the Agency, the number people who died in car accidents while not wearing a seat belt decreased by six percent compared to 2018.
925 drivers and passengers were killed on Texas roadways last year were unbuckled.
TxDOT has made an effort to increase the knowledge to drivers that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of dying by 45 percent for people in the front seat of passenger cars.
That figure increases to 60 percent for those in the passenger seat of a pick up truck.
TxDOT said the decrease in deaths annually since the campaign began is proof that its campaign works on a number of levels.
The agency said “Click It or Ticket” saved 6,234 lives, prevent more than 100,000 serious injuries and saved state officials more than $23.6 billion in economic costs related to the accidents along Texas roadways.
Right now, TxDOT said 91 percent of Texas are wearing seat belts and it would like to get that figure up to 100 percent compliance.
The campaign runs from November 16th to the 29th.
Drivers can expect to see law enforcement out in full force ticketing drivers and passengers who are not buckled up, especially at night.
Texas law requires everyone in a car to wear a seat belt of face fines and court costs up to $200.
Unless they’re taller than 4’9″, children under 8 years old must be in a child safety seat.
If they’re not, the driver can face a fine of up to $250 plus court costs.
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