Click It or Ticket campaign kicks off today

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is joining more than 250 other Indiana law enforcement agencies cracking down for seat belt violations during the annual Click It or Ticket campaign.

The enforcement effort starts today and runs through Nov. 29th. It includes overtime patrols to look for those driving or riding in vehicles without seatbelts. Funding for the effort is provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Sheriff Matt Myers says buckling up saves lives. Unrestrained motorists accounted for more than half of the fatalities in vehicle crashes.

Indiana has a primary seat belt law, which allows officers to stop and to cite drivers and passengers for failing to wear a seat belt. Drivers can also be cited for each unbuckled passenger in the vehicle under the age of 16. Children under the age of eight must be properly restrained in a federally approved child or booster seat.