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IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE
Headquarters, 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian, ID 83642
For Immediate Release: 05/20/21 12:31 p.m.
Please direct questions to the ISP Public Affairs Office isppio@isp.idaho.gov (208)884-7122
or your local District office.
Tomorrow begins the first weekend of "Click It or Ticket", an early travel season education and enforcement campaign aimed at saving lives by focusing on the simple, yet life-saving habit of wearing a seat belt.
Sadly, recent data shows more than half of Idaho motorists killed in crashes were not buckled in.*
"Seatbelts save lives. That's something we see every day," said Trooper Tauna Davis of ISP District 2 in Lewiston. "Unfortunately fatalities can occur anytime, anyplace, at any speed. No one thinks it could happen to them, until it does."
"I've witnessed, firsthand, the damage and tragedy caused by not wearing a seat belt. Seat belts secure drivers in their seats, ensuring they have total control of their vehicle. With more drivers on the roads as the weather gets warmer, we want you to help us keep your family whole. Buckle up and drive well Idaho."
Idaho law requires everyone in a vehicle to wear safety restraints. The law also states that any adult driver can also be ticketed for passengers younger than 18 who are not properly restrained.
"We'd like to see every motorist buckled up for every trip," said Trooper Scott Bolen from ISP District 4 in Jerome. "But often what we see are injuries that change lives and devastate families that just may have been prevented by taking a second to snap a seat belt. That's why the law is in place and that's why we enforce and educate people about seat belts. It's about keeping Idaho families whole."
Partnerships help Protect Motorists: ISP is proud to be among 59 agencies throughout Idaho supporting the current "Click It or Ticket" campaign. Trooper Davis and Trooper Bolen represent ISP as law enforcement liaisons (LEL's) to the ITD Office of Highway Safety, helping build partnerships and create mobilizations with the goal of protecting motorists traveling on Idaho's roadways.
For more on Idaho's education campaign to remind motorists to buckle up, go to http://shift-idaho.org/buckleupidaho/.
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Additional patrols are funded by a grant from the Idaho Transportation Department Office of Highway Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Thank you to these agencies for supporting ISP's efforts to keep Idaho's roadways safe.
*ITD Office of Highway Safety data shows from 2015-2019, 56% of vehicle occupants killed in Idaho were not restrained, and 1,207 unrestrained vehicle occupants were critically injured in traffic crashes.
