West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety program announces seat belt focus

CHARLESTON -- The West Virginia Governor's Highway Safety Program is coordinating a high-visibility seat belt enforcement mobilization starting today.

The Click It or Ticket effort runs through Aug. 18, aimed at enforcing proper seat belt use to help keep all vehicle occupants safe as part of the program's year-round highway safety activities to curb the number of crashes, fatalities and injuries in West Virginia. The GHSP supports several statewide Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement mobilizations throughout the year.

During this time, West Virginia law enforcement officers are on the roadways, ticketing people traveling without a correctly buckled seat belt or transporting unrestrained children, according to a release from the program.

In 2022, 264 people lost their lives on West Virginia roadways. Of the 171 passenger vehicle fatalities, 85 were unrestrained.

"Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45%," said GHSP Director Jack McNeeley. "The seat belt can prevent a driver or passenger from being ejected or becoming a projectile within the vehicle. Knowing that, I would ask, 'Why wouldn't you wear your seat belt? Why risk it?'"

Approximately 7% of West Virginia drivers and front seat passengers do not wear seat belts or do not wear them correctly, McNeely said in the release.

"We are working hard to change this trend," he said. "Wearing your seat belt is required by law. Our long-term goal is to have 100% of drivers and passengers in West Virginia correctly buckling their seat belts day and night, front seat and back, every time they travel in a vehicle."

More information about the West Virginia Governor's Highway Safety Program is available online at highwaysafety.wv.gov or by calling 304-926-2509.