Motorists urged to wear seat belts before extended holiday travel weekend
(ATLANTA) The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Georgia State Patrol and AAA Georgia are asking all motorists to ‘Join the Click’ and buckle their seat belts before every trip. The agencies delivered their message on Monday prior to the start of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel weekend that begins on Wednesday at 6:00pm and ends at 11:59pm on Sunday.
The Thanksgiving holiday travel period takes place during the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) annual “Click It or Ticket” seat belt education and enforcement campaign. Seat belts are the most important safety equipment in every vehicle and all vehicle safety features are designed to be most effective when the vehicle occupants are properly restrained. According to NHTSA, seat belts save an estimated 15,000 thousand lives each year and more could be saved if everyone wore a seat belt on every trip.
That is why the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is asking all motorists to ‘Join the Click’ and buckle up before every trip and to make sure all children under eight years of age are riding in a properly installed child safety seat that meets the manufacturers’ guidelines as required by state law. Georgia law also requires children between eight and 17 to wear a seat belt at all times when riding in the front and back seats.
“State troopers and local law enforcement officers see seat belts saving lives in our state on a daily basis and that is why they make sure all motorists are obeying Georgia’s seat belt laws,” Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said. “It only takes a few seconds to buckle your seat belt and doing so can lead to a lifetime of memories and that is why we want everyone to ‘Join the Click’ by always buckling their seat belt.”
According to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the number of passenger vehicle occupants killed during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period in Georgia increased by 30 percent from 2018 (13) to 2022 (17). Federal crash data shows 52 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in Georgia during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period during this five-span (2018-22) were not wearing seat belts while federal crash data shows 49 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes during non-holiday travel periods in Georgia during this same five-year span were not wearing seat belts.
Some holiday celebrations and reunions will include alcoholic beverages and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety joins the Georgia State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies in reminding everyone to have a sober, designated driver lined up when the plans include alcoholic beverages. Georgia is a zero-tolerance state for drunk and drugged driving, which means any driver found to be over the state’s legal Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit of .08 or higher will be arrested. No excuses. No exceptions.
Federal crash data shows 30 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in Georgia during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend from 2018-2022 involved a driver whose BAC was .08 or higher and 70 percent of these crashes involved a driver whose BAC was twice the legal limit in Georgia.
AAA’s ‘Tow-To-Go Service will offer free tows and rides for the vehicle driver only for up to 10 miles from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27 through 6:00 a.m. on Monday, December 2. AAA encourages everyone to arrange a ride with a sober, designated driver before going out because AAA does not take appointments for the Tow-To-Go Service. The service is designed to help those who did not plan ahead.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and NHTSA offer the following safety tips for those traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend:
- Allow extra time for your trip due to more vehicles on the road
- Do not try to make up time by speeding
- Make sure all vehicle occupants are safely and properly restrained
- Set GPS devices before leaving and have a passenger help with directions if possible
- Take breaks on long trips and switch drivers if possible
