Goshen police Department Launches Special Statewide Click It or Ticket Enforcement Effort
Massachusetts Buckling Down on All Drivers and Passengers in an Effort to Boost Seat Belt Use and Save Lives


Goshen, Ma– Massachusetts drivers and passengers should always wear their seat belts or be ready to face the consequences.  That’s the message Goshen police Department will be sending this November, as they check to make sure motorists are buckling up.

This special crackdown, beginning November 12, marks the third seat belt enforcement mobilization across the state this year, designed to increase seat belt use and decrease motor vehicle fatalities.

“Too many people still have the reckless attitude that a crash will never happen to them,” said Chief Jeffrey Hewes. “Unfortunately these tragedies can and do happen every day.”

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 64 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts during 2008 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash, nine percent higher than the national average.

“While those may sound like just statistics, those of us at Goshen police Department know from personal experience that those numbers are the actual faces of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles and friends right here in Goshen,” said Chief Jeffrey Hewes. “We tell too many families about losses that may have been prevented had a loved one only worn a seat belt.”

That’s why Goshen police Department is joining with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), the State Police and many other local law enforcement organizations to launch this special Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization. Funded by EOPSS using a federal grant, stepped-up law enforcement activities will be conducted throughout the month of November.  So remember, if you are pulled over for disobeying traffic laws, law enforcement WILL be checking to make sure drivers and passengers are wearing their seat belts. No more excuses, no more exceptions. Click It or Ticket.

For more information, please visit www.mass.gov/highwaysafety.

* According to NHTSA, all numbers and percentages referencing belted or unbelted fatalities are based on “Known Usage.”