Don't Be A Ghost: Belmont Police to Crackdown on Drivers Not Buckled Up

If you drive without your seat belt beginning next week, it's will be more likely that you could find yourself getting a trick rather than a treat from Belmont Police. 

The Belmont Police Department, in partnership with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division and more than 95 state-wide local police departments, will be cracking down on motorists who are not buckling up during the October "Click It or Ticket" high-visibility enforcement campaign. 

“You will see us out in force during the October/Halloween campaign. We will be showing zero tolerance for anyone who is not wearing a seat belt. Our simple goal is to save more lives,” said Assistant Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac. 

The Halloween crackdown that runs from Oct. 18 through Nov. 1 will see local law enforcement officers enforcing the seat belt law around the clock, day and night. They are prepared to ticket anyone not wearing a seat belt. In fact, everyone in the car found not wearing a seat belt will be ticketed.

In Massachusetts, preliminary crash data from October 2011 shows there were 37 fatalities and approximately 275 people with incapacitating injuries who were not wearing a seat belt.

Around and during the Halloween holiday, when people will be transporting trick-or-treaters to and from party areas, it is especially important that everyone arrives safely and buckled up.  

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts saved almost 12,000 lives nationwide in 2011. In fact, research shows that with proper seat belt use, the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent.

"http://www.mass.gov/highwaysafety" www.mass.gov/highwaysafety