MONROE - Between Monday, May 21 and Sunday, June 3, area law enforcement, including the Green County Sheriff's Department and the Monroe Police Department, will take part in the Click It or Ticket mobilization with about 400 law enforcement agencies throughout the state. The New Glarus and Belleville police departments are also taking part in the effort.
Lt. Kari Phillips, Green County Sheriff's Department, and Lt. Mark Rohloff, Monroe Police Department, are coordinating their patrol officers' efforts to intensify their enforcement of Wisconsin's mandatory safety belt law during this period.
"Traffic deaths in Wisconsin so far this year have increased compared with the same time last year," Rohloff said. "And in all too many recent fatal crashes, the drivers and passengers were ejected from their vehicle because they were not buckled up."
"If you want to avoid the delay and hassle of being stopped and ticketed by an officer, you must buckle up every trip, every time," Phillips said. "Consistent safety belt use will protect you from being ejected from a vehicle during a crash or thrown around violently inside. There really is no rational reason to not buckle up."
"Through enforcement and education, we're trying to convince everyone to buckle up voluntarily so that eventually we can reduce the number of preventable traffic deaths to zero in Wisconsin," Rohloff said. "But if voluntary compliance fails and people ignore the law as well as common sense, we will provide a very convincing reminder about wearing their safety belts."
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in 2011, there were nearly 85,000 convictions for failure to fasten safety belts. Among all traffic violations, safety belt convictions in Wisconsin were second only to speeding convictions.
Lt. Kari Phillips, Green County Sheriff's Department, and Lt. Mark Rohloff, Monroe Police Department, are coordinating their patrol officers' efforts to intensify their enforcement of Wisconsin's mandatory safety belt law during this period.
"Traffic deaths in Wisconsin so far this year have increased compared with the same time last year," Rohloff said. "And in all too many recent fatal crashes, the drivers and passengers were ejected from their vehicle because they were not buckled up."
"If you want to avoid the delay and hassle of being stopped and ticketed by an officer, you must buckle up every trip, every time," Phillips said. "Consistent safety belt use will protect you from being ejected from a vehicle during a crash or thrown around violently inside. There really is no rational reason to not buckle up."
"Through enforcement and education, we're trying to convince everyone to buckle up voluntarily so that eventually we can reduce the number of preventable traffic deaths to zero in Wisconsin," Rohloff said. "But if voluntary compliance fails and people ignore the law as well as common sense, we will provide a very convincing reminder about wearing their safety belts."
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in 2011, there were nearly 85,000 convictions for failure to fasten safety belts. Among all traffic violations, safety belt convictions in Wisconsin were second only to speeding convictions.