TxDOT Takes Giant Steps to Ensure Texans Buckle Up
Inflatable Characters Help Enforce Safety Belt Laws
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San Antonio Mayor-elect, Julian Castro, helped launch TxDOT's "Click It or Ticket" campaign in San Antonio. Also on hand to remind motorists to buckle up were a rockstar icon, a duck and a steer. From now through May 31st, law enforcement will be out in droves on Texas streets and highways enforcing the state's safety belt laws. PHOTO BY JODY HORTON
SAN ANTONIO -- This weekend motorists in San Antonio will receive a reminder from some unforgettable characters to buckle up or pay a fine. The Texas Department of Transportation has enlisted the help of five inflatable ambassadors for its eighth annual Click It or Ticket campaign. The characters made their San Antonio debut downtown on Thursday on the steps of the Municipal Auditorium and perched atop the Radius Building. They were joined by local law enforcement, TxDOT representatives and area high school students to raise awareness of Texas safety belt laws.
Beginning May 21, the five inflatable characters—including Godzilla, a rock icon and a rubber duck—will appear in surprise locations throughout San Antonio carrying a unified message: Click It or Ticket. Looming up to two stories tall, these unconventional messengers will warn Texans that they will face fines if they do not obey safety belt laws.
The goal of this year’s campaign is to raise Texas safety belt compliance to 93.25 percent. TxDOT is making a special effort to reach drivers aged 18–34, a group more likely to be involved in traffic crashes and less likely to buckle up than other age groups.
“By increasing the number of Texans who wear their safety belts, we are reducing the number of lives lost on Texas streets and highways,” said Linda S. Tomasini, Transportation Funding/Contract Specialist for TxDOT. “This year’s Click It or Ticket campaign may be delivering the message in a lighthearted way, but we’re taking safety belt enforcement very seriously.”
Monday marked the beginning of the annual safety belt enforcement period. Thousands of state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers will be on San Antonio streets and highways between May 18 and 31, including the Memorial Day holiday weekend, to enforce the state’s safety belt laws.
Wearing a safety belt is the easiest and most effective way to prevent serious injury or death in a crash. Drivers and front seat passengers can be ticketed for not wearing their safety belt, as can drivers who do not buckle up their children. Safety belt violations can result in fines ranging from $25 to $200, plus court costs.
The eighth annual Click It or Ticket enforcement effort is supported through partnerships with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as well as local law enforcement agencies. For more information, visit www.texasclickitorticket.com.
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