The Voorhees Township Committee declared its support for the Click It or Ticket seat belt mobilization at its meeting on May 12.
“Voorhees is participating in the nationwide Click it or Ticket initiative from May 19 through June 1,” Mayor Michael Mignogna said. “A $4,000 state grant will allow us to increase police presence to raise awareness and promote seat belt usage through enforcement and education. Currently there is a 91 percent usage rate in New Jersey. We hope to increase that number and help save lives.”
The annual initiative includes high visibility law enforcement seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, as well as local and national publicity designed to ensure that drivers and passengers recognize the life-saving value of seat belts.
In 2013, 422 police agencies participated in the two-week initiative. As a result of the effort, law enforcement officers issued 26,049 seat belt citations, 4,895 speeding summonses and made 860 drunk driving arrests.
The goal of the 2014 initiative is to increase the statewide front seat belt usage rate from 91 percent to 92 percent.
“To meet our goal, we must continue both enforcement and public outreach efforts that educate all motor vehicle occupants about the importance of buckling up, every ride,” Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said.
The use of seat belts remains the most effective way to avoid death or serious injury during a car accident, officials say, which is why police enforcement is cracking down.
“Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a driver and his or her passengers to protect themselves when traveling,” Poedubicky said. “In 2010 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,546 lives nationwide.”
There were 545 motor vehicle fatalities in 2013, and a large percentage of the occupants killed were not wearing a seat belt.
This year’s initiative will not only focus on front seat belt usage, but also back seat belt usage. While the law requires adult back seat passengers to wear a seat belt, the usage rate of back seat belts stands at only 44 percent. Law enforcement will be focusing more on back seat belt usage this year in the hopes of increasing this rate.
In other news:
• The committee approved a mercantile licensing ordinance with two provisions. The first requires businesses that are licensed by the state to also get a township license if they are also conducting other business from their facility. The second sets up a competitive bid for food concession at parks.
• The committee approved an ordinance outlining the standard practices for towing abandoned and illegally parked vehicles. The ordinance involves the storage, removal and rates of towing a vehicle.
• The committee reconfirmed the dedicated tax rate for the municipal open space, recreation, farmland and historic preservation trust fund for tax billing purposes.
