Joliet, Plainfield police to increase enforcement of seatbelt violations

Joliet and Plainfield police vow to step up enforcement of seatbelt violations as part of a Click It or Ticket campaign.

Officials from both departments announced that from Wednesday through Memorial Day weekend, officers will step up “enforcement to remind motorists to ‘Click It or Ticket.’”

“We want the act of buckling up to become automatic to all drivers and passengers,” Joliet Police Chief Dawn Malec said in a statement. “‘Click It or Ticket’ isn’t about citations – it’s about saving lives. Wearing a seatbelt can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45%.”

Malec said, “Seatbelts save lives everyday but they’re only effective if they’re used.”

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign is administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation with federal highway safety funds.

The goal of the campaign is “not to give out tickets, but rather to influence people to buckle up and prevent injuries and fatalities,” according to Buckle Up Illinois, a website run by IDOT.

“Research proves that the certainty of a ticket and costly fines convinces people to ‘Click It,’” the website said.

The effectiveness of the campaign is measured through statewide telephone surveys and observational seatbelt surveys, IDOT officials said.

The observational seatbelt survey was not conducted for the 2020 campaign because of the COVID-19 outbreak, IDOT officials said. There was also a sharp reduction in participating law enforcement agencies because of the pandemic.