CHARLESTON, WV – The Public Service Commission urges everyone to buckle your seat belts every time you get into a vehicle. PSC Transportation Officers are participating in this month’s Click It or Ticket blitz from August 6 through August 22. They will use the opportunity to enforce the seat belt law with drivers of commercial motor vehicles. It is also another chance to educate drivers about the life-saving impact of seat belts.
The PSC’s Officers are working with other law enforcement agencies throughout the state to deliver the message that wearing your seat belt is not just a great idea – it’s the law. Click It or Ticket means exactly what the name says.
Prior to the pandemic, the PSC’s Transportation Officers issued 558 seat belt violations to commercial motor vehicle drivers between October 2018 and September 2019. From October 2019 through September 2020, even though traffic and inspections were lower, there were still 293 seat belt violations. In the most recent period, from October 2020 through the end of June 2021, our officers have cited 250 seat belt violations.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that an estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020, despite the fact that fewer people were driving,” said PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane. “That is a 7.2% increase over the previous year. A major contributing factor in that increase was the failure to wear seat belts. I don’t want to hear of any more West Virginians becoming traffic statistics, so I hope everyone will buckle up.”
