With the holidays upon us, millions of Americans are hitting the road to visit with family and friends. The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) wants every celebration to be a joyous occasion, so travelers are reminded that state and local law enforcement will be out in force through the Thanksgiving weekend, sending the strong message to “Click It or Ticket.”
While seat-belt use is at a record high of 85 percent nationwide, Kentucky lags behind with an 82-percent usage rate. There were 760 total highway fatalities in Kentucky in 2010, with 598 killed in motor vehicles. Of those 598 fatalities, 62.5 percent were not wearing a seat belt.
KOHS acting director Bill Bell said the campaign this year will place extra emphasis on nighttime enforcement, since that is when passenger vehicle occupants are least likely to buckle up and most likely to die in crashes.
In Kentucky last year, there were 1,305 crashes over the Thanksgiving holiday, resulting in 405 injuries and nine fatalities. Of those fatalities, four were unrestrained.
