CRYSTAL LAKE – The Crystal Lake Police Department is reminding residents to fasten their seat belts over the Thanksgiving holiday period or run the risk of receiving a ticket.
As of Jan. 1, 2012, everyone, no matter the age or seating position, is required to wear a safety belt.
Nighttime drivers and passengers continue to be among those least likely to wear safety belts. Consequently, they are also among those most likely to die in motor vehicle crashes, the Department said in a news release.
The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that the state has a 93.6 percent daytime safety belt usage rate.
In Illinois, during the Thanksgiving holiday period for 2011, eight vehicle occupants died in crashes – four of those deaths involved a drunken driver and more than 800 individuals were injured.
Seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Research has shown that when lap and shoulder belts are used properly, the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent.
For information about the Click It or Ticket and the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaigns, visit www.buckleupillinois.org.
