Pittsburgh – As the summer season begins, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Mt. Lebanon Police Department today partnered to promote seat belt usage during the national "Click it or Ticket" mobilization, running through June 5.

Together, the two agencies spoke to parents, faculty, and students about the importance of wearing a seat belt every time they are in a vehicle, while distributing "Click It or Ticket" informational brochures. Additionally, those who made a verbal pledge to buckle up were rewarded with a Life Savers candy with a tag reading "Thank you for being a life saver."

As students will soon be out of school for the summer, the agencies want to send students off with a seat belt safety reminder. Each time they enter a vehicle this summer and always, everyone should buckle up, every trip, every time.

"This is a great way to remind young people to wear their seat belts, but an even better reminder to parents that their children are watching their behaviors in the vehicle," said Jim Marsh, Law Enforcement Liaison with the Highway Safety Network. "If parents enforce seat belt usage within the family, it is more likely to stick with their children."

The goal of the "Click It or Ticket" mobilization is to reduce unbelted injuries and deaths on Pennsylvania highways through coordinated enforcement using Traffic Enforcement Zones and Roving Patrols.

Motorists are reminded that Pennsylvania's primary seat-belt law requires drivers and passengers under 18 years old to buckle up, and children under the age of 4 must be properly restrained in an approved child safety seat. Additionally, children under 2 years of age must be securely fastened in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system, which is to be used until the child outgrows the maximum weight and limits designated by the manufacturer.

Also, drivers and front seat passengers 18 years-old or older are required to buckle up. If motorists are stopped for a traffic violation and are not wearing their seat belt, they can receive a second ticket and second fine.

According to PennDOT data, in 2021 there were 12,672 crashes in Pennsylvania where at least one occupant was not wearing a seat belt, resulting in 378 fatalities.

For more information on seat belt safety, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/Safety.

For regional twitter updates, visit www.twitter.com/511PAPittsburgh.

MEDIA CONTACT: Yasmeen Manyisha, 412-429-5044

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