HENDERSON (KTNV) — Wearing a seat belt while driving or riding in a vehicle on Nevada roadways is not optional, according to local authorities.
The Henderson Police Department says its officers will be out in force looking for motorists, and their passengers, not wearing seat belts during the Click It or Ticket enhanced enforcement effort which runs May 17 through June 1.
Officers will use saturation patrols throughout Henderson to stop vehicles for traffic violations and then check for seat belt use, as seat belt violations are a secondary offense in Nevada, according to HPD.
Click it or Ticket is a national program sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is the country’s most successful seat belt enforcement campaign, helping create a national seat belt usage rate of about 90.7% for 2019.
Seat belts help prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected from the vehicle in the event of a crash. Using a seat belt reduces the risk of a fatal injury by up to 50 percent for front-seat occupants and up to 75 percent for rear-seat occupants, according to authorities.
The Henderson Police Department received $220,000 in federal funding for the enhanced enforcement through the Nevada Department of Public Safety – Office of Traffic Safety for the 2021 Joining Forces program.
Joining Forces is a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement program aimed at reducing injuries and crashes through statewide enforcement of traffic safety laws. The goal is to save lives by increasing public awareness about the dangers of making poor choices while driving.
