Enforcement Alert: Buckle Up To Save Lives In New Jersey

If your travels include a motor vehicle this weekend, authorities want you to arrive alive.

This weekend, law enforcement agencies in New Jersey will be conducting a campaign aptly called, Click-it or Ticket.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that while many people buckle up when they travel, there are still too many who don't, resulting in avoidable tragedy.

In 2022, 58% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in rural traffic crashes at night were unbelted, compared to 56% in urban areas.

According to the NHTSA, more than 11,000 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2022 were unbelted, and 57% of those killed were unbelted in nighttime crashes, according to the most recent data from NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis.

Authorities in New Jersey will be aggressively enforcing seatbelt laws this weekend. If you are in the front seat and not wearing a seatbelt, you can be pulled over and ticketed as a primary offense.

If you're in the backseat and not buckled, you can be ticketed as well. While it's considered a primary offense in the front seat, it's a secondary offense for those in the backseat.

That means that you can't be pulled over if someone in the back seat isn't buckled, but if you're pulled over for another violation, then the back seat passenger can be ticketed as well.

Also in New Jersey, children age 2 and under and under 30 pounds, must be in an approved baby seat. These seats are required to have a 5-point harness and must be facing the rear.