North Carolina Car Accident Law Firm: Police Issue 13,654 Seat Belt Citations During “Click It or Ticket” Campaign
The results are in from North Carolina’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign.According to the final statewide total, 13,654 seat belt citations and 1,478 child passenger safety citations were issued. Other citations included:
• 2,200 citations to motorists for driving while impaired.
• 6,309 criminal violations
The statewide campaign to promote seat belt use took place from May 18 – 31, 2009, with multiple checkpoints set up in the different counties.
Just last month, the US Department of Transportation issued findings from one of its recent studies estimating that 22,372 serious injuries and 1,652 deaths could be prevented each year if only 90% of the vehicle occupants in each state wore seat belts. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, North Carolina had a 89.8% seat belt usage rate for last year, which is its highest rate to date.
Seat belt use is very important. For infants and toddlers, it is equally important to make sure that they are securely fastened in their child safety seats in the event of a motor vehicle crash.
Unfortunately, people can still get hurt in North Carolina car crashes even if they were wearing their safety belts. Motor vehicle crashes is one of the leading causes of catastrophic injuries and deaths, so it is important that you know your legal options for financial recovery if you were injured in a traffic collision that was caused by another party’s careless actions.
This liable party may be a truck driver, another car driver, a motorcyclist, a train operator, a pedestrian, the North Carolina city where the car crash occurred, or an auto manufacturer. For example, if your injuries during a North Carolina car crash were further exacerbated because the seat belt you were using was defective, you may have grounds for filing an auto products liability lawsuit against the negligent seat belt manufacturer or car maker.
Common seat belt defects that can prove deadly:
• Inertial unlatching
• Seat belt fails to lock
• Too much belt slack
15,000 Cited In Seat Belt Campaign, WXII12.com, June 5, 2009
New Study: Higher Seat Belt Use Could Save Many Lives, NHTSA, May 14, 2009
Related Web Resources:
The Increase in lives, injuries prevented, and cost savings if seat belt use rose to at least 90% in all states, NHTSA, May 2009 (PDF)
Our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers would like to talk to you about your motor vehicle accident case.
