Security Forces issue tough reminder -- Click It or Ticket!

  • Published
  • By 71st Security Forces Squadron
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Before complaining about getting a ticket for not buckling your seatbelt, consider this information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

In 2007, nearly 2.5 million people were injured in crashes and 41,059 people were killed on America's roadways. 

Over 14,000 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2007 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash. 

Motor vehicle crashes cost the U.S. economy an estimated $230.6 billion every single year. 

These are not just statistics for members of the Security Forces. These numbers are the faces of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles and friends right here in Enid. These numbers are losses that may have been prevented had seat belts been worn. 

This goes to the heart of the Security Forces' mission to protect the public. That is why Vance Security Forces have joined with thousands of other state and local law enforcement and highway safety agencies nationwide to announce support for the 2009 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization from May 18 through 31. 

The good news is that unprecedented numbers of motorists are buckling up due to the implementation of seat belt use Department of Defense wide. Seat belts can be credited with saving more than 15,000 lives in 2007 alone. 

Thanks in part to high-visibility enforcement campaigns like Click It or Ticket, observed national seat belt usage hit 83 percent in 2008 -- a 25 percent increase over the past 14 years. 

But the tragic reality is there are still far too many people convinced that they don't need seat belts. 

People often ask, "Aren't there more serious criminals on the street other than those who simply do not buckle up? They're not hurting anyone but themselves." 

To the contrary, the people who choose to disobey the law by not wearing their seat belts are taking a chance with not only their lives, but the emotional and financial health of their families, friends and community. 

Death may be the ultimate consequence for not wearing a seat belt, but even for those who escape a fatal crash, the economic costs of injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes are staggering. Every year motor vehicle crashes cost the country an estimated $230.6 billion. That equals more than $800 per person in the United States. 

So it begins right here at Vance. Law enforcement will be out in force to ensure 100 percent of base motorists buckle up. Buckling up costs nothing. But the costs of not buckling up may be a ticket -- or worse -- your life. 

Treat this as a tough and potentially life-saving reminder: Click It or Ticket!