BATH
The Bath Police Department, along with many other Maine law enforcement agencies, is participating in the National Click It or Ticket Enforcement Campaign taking place day and night until June 1.
In the next two weeks, officers will be conducting selective enforcement details looking for operators that are not wearing their seatbelts.
According to a press release issued by Bath Police Chief Michael Field, Maine is one of 33 states where not wearing a seatbelt is a primary offense. This means that an officer can stop you for simply not wearing your seatbelt.
Based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures, “The good news is that in 2012 seat belts saved an estimated 12,174 people from dying,” the release stated. “From 2008-12 that number was nearly 63,000 lives. Seat belt use in the northeast region has increased significantly from 80 percent in 2012 to 84 percent in 2013. Also the seatbelt rate in the primary law states is at least 90 percent.
“The bad news is that young adults are dying at a disproportionate rate because they are not wearing their seatbelts. Sixty-two percent of 18- to 34-year-old passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes were not wearing a seatbelt.”
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