The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) and NASCAR star Ross Chastain demonstrated the importance of wearing a seat belt to teens across the Capital Region ahead of the statewide “Buckle Up New York, Click it or Ticket” campaign which runs from May 23 through June 5. Chastain joined GTSC at three Rensselaer County high schools to show teens how quick and easy it is to buckle up and how devastating a crash can be when drivers and passengers are unbelted.
During the enforcement mobilization, State Police and local law enforcement agencies will use marked and unmarked vehicles, checkpoints, and roving details to patrol for unbelted drivers and unrestrained passengers. During last year’s campaign, law enforcement issued 12,573 tickets for seat belt and child restraint violations and 57,259 tickets for other vehicle and traffic law violations, such as distracted driving and speeding.
“It’s simple – buckling up is the safest, quickest, and easiest thing you can do to protect yourself as a driver or passenger while traveling in a vehicle,” said Mark J.F. Schroeder, Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles and GTSC Chair. “This education and enforcement mobilization focuses on raising awareness among teens and young adults who are less likely to wear a seat belt than older drivers and passengers. We are fortunate to have NASCAR’s rising star Ross Chastain on our team to help spread this important message.”
Chastain, an eighth-generation watermelon farmer, will sport New York’s Protect Your Melon logo on his uniform and race car when he drives the No.92 Buckle Up NY Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race this summer at Watkins Glen International. Additionally, over 1,500,000 watermelons labeled with “Protect Your Melon” and a “Buckle Up!” hashtag will be sold in grocery stores throughout the state during the spring and summer months.
In 1984, New York was the first state in the nation to pass legislation requiring drivers and front-seat passengers to use seat belts. In 2020, the state bolstered its seat belt laws by requiring everyone in passenger vehicles, regardless of where they sit, to wear a seat belt or be properly restrained in a child safety seat. According to the University at Albany’s Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR), New York’s seat belt compliance rate has consistently remained at or above 90 percent since 2010.
New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said, “Safety restraints are not an option in New York. The risk of severe injury and death in car crashes increases significantly when motorists and passengers do not wear their seat belts. Taking a few seconds to buckle up and check child safety restraints is an easy way to reduce these risks. We want New Yorkers to enjoy their summer travel and reach their destinations safely. I thank the GTSC and our law enforcement partners for their collaboration in educating and bringing awareness to all who get into a vehicle in New York State.”
As part of its ongoing effort to make sure drivers and passengers are safe, GTSC’s Child Passenger Safety Program supports training on how to properly install child safety restraints. Through this program, law enforcement and various community safety partners offer free child car seat inspections by certified child passenger safety technicians year-round. Information for parents and caregivers is available at trafficsafety.ny.gov.
For more information on occupant protection, visit the GTSC’s website, https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/occupant-
protection, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts.
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