Source: Delaware Office of Highway Safety
Dover, Del. (May 19, 2025) — The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is collaborating with state and local law enforcement to engage in the high visibility Click It or Ticket seat belt safety campaign. This national initiative aligns with the Memorial Day holiday and operates from May 19 to June 8. The purpose of this enforcement is not solely to issue citations but to save lives and reinforce the importance of buckling up, every trip, every time.
“Although Delaware has a high seatbelt usage rate, the number of unrestrained fatalities is alarming,” said Sharon Bryson, Director of the Office of Highway Safety. “It is important to ensure everyone in the vehicle is properly restrained before driving. Whether you are using a seatbelt, booster seat, or five point harness car seat, these restraints are all designed to help save lives and should be used correctly. The results of not wearing a seatbelt can be devastating, and buckling up can help prevent serious injury and fatality for you and your passengers.”
Delaware has maintained a seatbelt usage rate of around 92% over the last five years; however, 58% of the fatalities in 2024 involved unrestrained individuals. Younger occupants appear to be the most likely to be involved in unrestrained crashes. Occupants 19 and under represent 18% of all crashes. There is also a high representation of unrestrained crashes with the 35-44 age group. May of 2024, 87% of drivers and passengers involved in a collision and wearing a seatbelt sustained no injuries. Seatbelts work and significantly decrease your chances of death or serious injury in a crash.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2023, 10,484 of fatalities in traffic crashes were not wearing seat belts. Too many people wrongly believe they are safe to be unrestrained in the back seat. Of all front-seat passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2023, 48% were unrestrained, but 60% of those killed in back seats were unrestrained. Click it or Ticket is a day and night enforcement. In 2023, 56% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts.
Occupant protection is important for all ages and sizes. In addition to increased patrols, OHS wants to educate drivers and passengers on the dangers of unrestrained driving and the correct way to buckle up safely:
Consequences of not wearing a seat belt:
- Just airbags alone are not enough to protect you. The force of the airbag can cause serious injury and even fatality to you or your young passengers if not buckled up or in the correct car seat.
- Not buckling up can result in being ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly. Seat belts help keep you secure inside of your vehicle.
- Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below your arm, or behind your back, can cause the restraint to not work properly and prevent it from protecting you in a crash.
Guidelines to buckle up safely:
- The lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which are bare strong points on your body that can withstand crash forces better than other parts of your body.
- Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
- The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
- NEVER put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.
- Children are much more likely to buckle up themselves if their caregivers also buckle up.
- Don’t rush to transition your child to the next car seat. Follow the guidelines and keep your child in each stage of child restraint as long as possible.
