Click-it tickets to be issued

Hundreds cited in seat-belt campaign

State troopers wrote 308 seat-belt violation citations during this year's "Click it or Ticket," campaign aimed at increasing seat-belt use.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chuck Allen said 17 overtime shifts to enforce the campaign from May 23 to Saturday were funded by a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety.

"Troopers that made a traffic stop and saw a driver or passenger unrestrained issued a seatbelt citation. No exceptions, no excuses," Allen said.

In addition to seat-belt violations, troopers cited four drivers for having children unrestrained, wrote 77 speeding tickets, arrested one person on drunken driving, issued 29 moving violation citations, and wrote 123 additional citations for things such as registration, insurance and mechanical violations. These numbers pertain to Carson City, Lake Tahoe, Minden, Yerington, Fernley, Fallon, Dayton, Virginia City and Gardnerville.

The goal of the campaign is not to give out tickets, but to influence people to buckle up and prevent injuries and fatalities, Allen said.

Of the 31,904 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2003, 56 percent were not wearing a safety belt, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Seventy-three percent of the passengers involved in a fatal crash in 2003 who were restrained survived; of those who were not restrained, only 42 percent survived.

Carson City deputies also participated in the campaign, but those numbers were not available Tuesday.

- F.T. Norton, Appeal staff writer