11-03-2025
Click It or Ticket campaign will begin soon throughout West Virginia
CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — The West Virginia Governor's Highway Safety Program (GHSP) is planning a statewide Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort throughout the month of March.
According to a press release, the campaign is one of the GHSP's year-long efforts to raise the usage of seat belts in the Mountain State, and serves as a prelude to the national campaign taking place in May. The statewide campaign will begin on March 7, 2025 and end on March 25, 2025.
In 2022, an estimated 49 percent of all passenger vehicle occupants that were killed in crashes in the state were not wearing a seat belt. To lower the risk, enforcing seat belt laws must happen day and night.
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Our seat belt usage decreased to 91.9 percent in 2024 from 93 percent in 2023. While we are displeased with this decrease, we will keep working until every person in every vehicle is correctly buckled up. A seat belt is your best protection against death or injury should you be in a vehicle crash.
Jack McNeely | Director, Governor's Highway Safety Program
Residents in rural areas may think their crash risk is lower, but in 2022, 66 percent of total vehicle deaths in West Virginia occurred in rural areas, compared to 34 percent in urban areas, the release noted.
Officers across West Virginia will be on patrol, writing tickets to violators caught without using a seat belt or transporting children that are not restrained properly. The statewide effort is aimed at implementing seat belt use to keep all travelers safe.
The reality is: seat belts save lives. Click It or Ticket isn't about citations; it's about saving lives. Not buckling up is not worth the risk.
Jack McNeely | Director, Governor's Highway Safety Program
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Using your seat belt is required by law. Do not buckle up simply to avoid a ticket. The lives of our friends and families are priceless, infinitely greater than the $25 that violators will pay. If caught driving while unbuckled and you get a ticket, view it as a wakeup call, the release stated.
For more information regarding the West Virginia Governor's Highway Safety Program, call 304-926-2509, or visit their website.
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