2003 Click It or Ticket Campaign

A driver reacts to receiving a ticket from Officer Robert Franko
on Monday 5/19/2003 in a Seatbelt Enforcement Zone.

Story courtesy of The Times - Picture courtesy of The Times

CROWN POINT -- By 9:30 a.m., a half-dozen cars had been diverted into the center lane on North Main Street, and their sullen drivers waited for officers to issue them tickets.

Their crime? Failure to wear seat belts. Crown Point police issued 64 tickets to beltless scofflaws Monday as part of a statewide "Click It or Ticket" enforcement campaign.

The seat belt trap was the first of 20 that Crown Point police will set up between now and June 1.

The stepped-up enforcement efforts are part of an ongoing campaign by state and local officials to increase seat belt use. In 1999, only 57 percent of Hoosiers regularly wore their seat belts, according to the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving. By 2002, that figure had risen to 72 percent.

"It's not about writing tickets -- it's about saving lives on Indiana's roadways," said Jerry McCory, director of the governor's council, in a statement. According to the council, 792 people died last year in highway accidents in the state, of which 70 percent were not wearing seat belts.

Police Chief Pete Land said the increased enforcement efforts are working, judging by the number of people found to be wearing seat belts at auto accident scenes in the city.

"There's definitely been a noticeable increase in the number of people wearing seat belts," he said.

Similar events took place in Indianapolis, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Terre Haute, among other cities.

Also participating was Cedar Lake, which prides itself on not having a fatal accident within the town in the past five years, Lt. Roger Patz of the Cedar Lake Police Department said in a statement.

"Here in Cedar Lake, we will continue to do our part to save Hoosier lives, one father, one mother, one child at a time," he said.

Story Link

Trademark and Copyright 2003 -2006 by the Crown Point Police Department, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All materials published on the Site are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by the City of Crown Point or The Crown Point Police Department, or the party listed as the provider of the content, software or other materials. Commercial use of the materials is prohibited without the written permission of The Crown Point Police Department.

All D.A.R.E. content is Trademark and Copyright 2001 by D.A.R.E. America, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All D.A.R.E. materials published on the Site are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by D.A.R.E. America, or the party listed as the provider of the content, software or other materials. Commercial use of the materials is prohibited without the written permission of D.A.R.E. America.

UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, REPRODUCTION, REPUBLISHING, UPLOADING, DOWNLOADING, POSTING, TRANSMITTING OR DUPLICATING ANY OF THE MATERIAL IS PROHIBITED. You may download or copy any downloadable materials displayed on the Site for home, noncommercial and personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright, trademark and other notices contained in such material and you agree to abide by all additional copyright notices, information or restrictions contained in any material accessed through the Site.