The low use of safety belts was a major factor in the 441 fatalities and approximately 5,000 serious injuries and $6.3 billion in economic costs associated with motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts in 2005.

Since safety belts reduce the risk of death or serious injury in a motor vehicle crash by up to 50%, we can improve highway safety in Massachusetts by getting more people to buckle up with Click It or Ticket.

As of June 2007 belt use in Massachusetts was 69%. The goal for 2008 is to increase belt use to 72%. Yet nationwide belt use was 82% as of 2007.

Massachusetts law requires all occupants to be properly restrained by safety belts when riding in a private passenger motor vehicle, including vans and trucks. Learn more about the Massachusetts Safety Belt Law as well as the Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law.

Click It or Ticket is made possible in Massachusetts through federal highway safety grant funding used by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division (EOPSS-HSD).

The Massachusetts Click It or Ticket initiative was started in the fall of 2002. It is based on a successful national model developed by NHTSA that involv

es two to three week "mobilization" periods of high-visibility traffic enforcement, paid and earned media, and community education.