CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The 2020 Click or Ticket Campaign is underway across West
Virginia and is aimed at improving highway safety during the holiday travel
period. Typically the campaign which aims to raise awareness of seat belt and
child safety seat use is set in the month of May, but this year was delayed due
to Covid 19.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration moved
the date from the spring to this date because of the increased travel for
Thanksgiving all the way through Christmas,” said Aimee Cantrell, Public
Information Specialist for the Governor’s Highway Safety
Program.
Officers are patrolling with a sharp eye out for seat belt use
and that of child restrains in all vehicles on West Virginia roadways. If you
get pulled over, don’t expect to get off with a warning.
“No, it’s zero
tolerance because it’s a high visibility enforcement period and we have officers
all across the state who are out there enforcing the law,” Cantrell
said.
West Virginia has a primary seat belt law. The designation means
you can actually be pulled over for failing to buckle up. According to Cantrell
the law has vastly improved the state’s rate of seat belt use.
“Once the
law was passed, we have made strides and improve it to 90.17 percent which is
better than the national average which is 90 percent and we are working to
improve that every year,” she said.