TMA Bucks Community Traffic Safety Program manager Carly Mannon represented Bucks County and joined Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Philadelphia Police Department, New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, AAA, the Traffic Injury & Prevention Program and the Phillie Phanatic on May 24 for a media event at Citizens Bank Park to kick off the national “Click It or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement initiative, which runs through June 6.
With support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, municipal police departments across southeast Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police will send a “zero tolerance” message to unbuckled motorists through enforcement and public awareness activities. Since May 24, police departments across state lines have been working together through the border-to-border initiative to make sure all motorists are buckled up.
Under Pennsylvania law, all drivers and front seat passengers must wear a seatbelt. If you are transporting passengers ages 8 to 18, they must wear a seatbelt regardless of where they are seated in the vehicle. Children under the age of 4 must be in an approved child safety seat, and children under 2 must be in a rear-facing car seat until the child outgrows the maximum weight and height limits designated by the car seat manufacturer. Children ages 4-8 must be restrained in a booster seat.
Proper seatbelt use can increase chances of surviving a crash by up to 60 percent. According to PennDOT data, there were 3,363 crashes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in 2020 in which people were not wearing seatbelts, with 102 people dying in those crashes.
Visit PennDOT.gov/safety and tmabucks.com for more information.
