The Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells police departments will kick off their annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign on May 23. The two departments will join hundreds of other agencies in the safety belt enforcement campaign.
From May 23 to June 5, officers throughout the state are looking to get people to buckle up each time they are in a vehicle -- whether they are driving or a passenger. The chief of Lake Delton's police department said that last year, over 55,000 people were convicted of failing to fasten their seat belts.
In Wisconsin, seat belt laws are a primary offense, which means that police can stop you if you are not wearing a seat belt. They don't need another reason. At 85 percent, the state has the highest seat belt use ever. That falls on the heels of another interesting statistic: Last month was the fourth safest in the state since World War II in terms of traffic crashes. Thirty-eight people died last month in Wisconsin, which is 12 fewer than in April 2015.
The deadliest April was in 1973, when 113 people lost their lives in traffic accidents on Wisconsin roads. The April with the least number of deaths was in 2014 when 25 people were killed.
The director of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety said, "Officers are serious about safety belt enforcement because lives are destroyed, families are devastated, and society suffers substantial economic losses when people are needlessly killed or seriously injured in crashes because they were not wearing a safety belt."
If you have been injured in a car accident that wasn't your fault, you may have a course of action to recover compensation for your injuries, losses and damages. A civil lawsuit may be filed against the at-fault driver and his or her insurance company for full and fair compensation in your accident case.
Source: CBS58.com, "April was Fourth Safest Traffic Month in Wisconsin since World War II," Justin Thompson-Gee, May 04, 2016