WESTFIELD, NJ - As spring starts winding down enhanced enforcement season is ramping up as law enforcement officers have announced that they'll be patrolling heavily in 111 New Jersey towns to make sure drivers and passengers are doing what they need to do to protect themselves.

The Division of Highway Traffic Safety and law enforcement agencies throughout state are preparing to join in the launch of a nationwide campaign aimed at getting drivers and passengers across the country to buckle up for safety. And they'll be going after DWIs and speeding cars, too.

From May 20 through June 2, New Jersey officers will be out in full force as part of the annual "Click It or Ticket" enforcement mobilization to emphasize the value of seat belts. In Westfield, $5,500 dollars has been allocated. Those interested in what other towns are participating can see the complete list here.

"Click It or Ticket is a high-visibility law enforcement effort that gives people even

more of a reason to buckle up – the increased threat of a traffic ticket," Westfield Police Chief

Christopher Battiloro said. "Most people do buckle up for safety, but for some people, it is only the threat of a ticket that prompts them to put on a seat belt." Last year, 357 – 73 percent – of the 491 police agencies in New Jersey participated in the Click It or Ticket mobilization. The agencies issued a total 19,659 seat belt citations, up from 17,792 issued during the 2017 mobilization.



In addition to seat belt citations, police officers wrote 534 child restraint and 4,437 speeding citations, and made 661 DWI arrests, state officials said.

Now in its 15th year, New Jersey's Click It or Ticket campaign uses high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, in combination with local and national publicity efforts, to reinforce the message that motorist should buckle up during every trip.

Crash statistics show that from 2013 through 2017, seat belt use saved more than 69,000 lives nationally, more than 1,000 of them In New Jersey, according to state officials. Experts say wearing a seatbelt reduces a vehicle occupant's risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and critical injury by 50 percent.