Bainbridge Island police are joining with other law enforcement agencies across Kitsap County and the state to conduct extra patrols for motorists not wearing their seat belts.
The increased enforcement is part of Washington’s annual “Click It or Ticket” seat belt campaign.
The added patrols started Monday, May 13 and will continue through Sunday, June 2.
More than 145 law enforcement agencies across the state will be conducting the extra patrols, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
According to the commission, more than 100 people who are unbuckled die in crashes each year, and most of the fatalities were young men between the ages of 21 to 25.
The commission has launched a public safety campaign aimed at these young adults, including running a horror-movie style video ad that depicts a young man and woman being chased in the dark by a man wielding a chainsaw. They jump in a car and, as the young man desperately tries to start it, the young woman asks “where’s the seatbelt?” As the chainsaw man gets closer the young woman gets out of the car when she realizes the driver is not wearing one. “I’ll take my chances out here!” she says.
“The ad uses humor to get a very serious point across,” said Scott Waller, occupant protection program manager for the commission. “Your odds of dying in a crash are four times greater if you are not buckled up.”
Nationally, among young adults 18 to 34 killed in crashes in 2017, more than half (57 percent) were completely unrestrained, one of the highest percentages for all age groups.
In addition to Bainbridge police, other Kitsap County law enforcement agencies that are participating in “Click It or Ticket” include the Bremerton Island Police Department, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Naval Base Kitsap Police Department, the Port Orchard Police Department, the Poulsbo Police Department, and the Suquamish Police Department.
Seat belt usage in Washington state appears to be better than the national average.
An observational study conducted by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission found that statewide, seat belt use was 93.2 percent among vehicle occupants in 2018, compared to a national seat belt use rate of 89.7 percent in 2017.
