Click It or Ticket

This might explain the 5 traffic stops within a mile of each other I saw on I57 last Friday afternoon. The state police had a car parked at the bottom of an on-ramp, with RADAR and two motorcycle officers parked alongside. There were 5 vehicles pulled over within a mile and a half after the on-ramp.

Click It Or Ticket Campaign
In an effort to save lives and prevent serious injuries to drivers and occupants of vehicles traveling in Carbondale, the City of Carbondale Police Department will be focusing

In an effort to save lives and prevent serious injuries to drivers and occupants of vehicles traveling in Carbondale, the City of Carbondale Police Department will be focusing on seat belt and child restraint enforcement from May 14 through May 31, 2010. This period will coincide with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, 2010 Click It or Ticket campaign.

The goal of the Click It or Ticket Mobilization is not to issue citations, but rather to influence people to buckle up and prevent injuries and fatalities. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, research proves that the certainty of a citation and costly fines convinces people to Click It. As the number one leading cause of death and disability for Americans between the ages of 4 and 34, motor vehicle crashes are a serious public health problem.

The City of Carbondale Police Department encourages drivers and passengers to wear safety belts and ensure children are placed in the appropriate child safety seat.

Along with our commitment to the Click It or Ticket campaign, the City of Carbondale Police Department is also a Permanent Child Passenger Safety Inspection Station, which is funded, in part, through an Illinois Department of Transportation Child Passenger Safety Grant. Department personnel trained as Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians are available to inspect child safety seats for correct installation and use and provide one on one instruction to educate parents and care givers about the basics of child safety seat installation and use. These services are provided free of charge and are available every Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., or by appointment, at the police department.

Typically, nine out of ten car seats are installed incorrectly. Common errors are not securing the seat into the vehicle properly, facing the child forward too soon, improperly placed or adjusted harness straps, and using a seat that is not appropriately sized for the child. While not all of these errors may lead to injury in the event of a traffic crash, they increase the likelihood of an injury to the child. The City of Carbondale Police Department is committed to ensuring the children of our community are traveling as safely as possible and encourage all parents and care givers to have their child safety seats inspected by trained Department technicians.

Illinois Law currently requires each driver and passenger of a motor vehicle wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat safety belt. It also requires that whenever a person is transporting a child under the age of 8, the person is responsible for properly securing the child in an appropriate child restraint system, which includes a booster seat. Every person, when transporting a child between the ages of 8 and 16 is responsible for properly securing the child in a seat belt.

For more information regarding the Illinois Child Passenger Protection Act, please contact the City of Carbondale Police Department at (618) 457-3200, extension 428 or visit our website, www.carbondalepolice.com.