“Click It or Ticket” returns for Thanksgiving as Middle Georgia officials push seat belt safety

Officials say the statewide effort aims to reduce crashes and fatalities during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Seat belts are the most important piece of safety equipment in every vehicle on the road. This is why the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office are campaigning “Click It or Ticket” this holiday season to help prevent injuries.

According to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, around Thanksgiving of 2024, 70% of people killed in vehicle crashes were not wearing a seat belt. Deputy Director for the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Maurice Raines says children are their main focus when it comes to highway and seat belt safety.

“We make sure they buckle their children, because children are our most precious commodity,” he said. “They are vulnerable when they’re in a vehicle, and we need to make sure they are safe. So we’re out all over the state, been out all week just notifying people that we need them to buckle up while driving.”

Raines says drivers don’t like enforcement, but they will enforce the law.

“But the most important thing is making people aware that these simple things they can do — they don’t have to speed,” he said. “They don’t have to be distracted while driving. They can buckle up, and they don’t have to drive impaired.”

In Bibb County, you can be fined for not wearing a seat belt, and the cost is higher for a minor. Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Captain Scott Davis explains the punishment for that action.

“We provide the court date with a written citation, and if warranted they will go to jail,” Davis said. “Some violations warrant being incarcerated — the judges and court decide on that.”

Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office Captain Lee Smith says the goal is to reduce crashes and fatalities and make it home safe for the holidays by putting the phone down, wearing a seatbelt, and not driving impaired.

“Just know this — our deputies are going to be out there in full force in Twiggs County, and we will be enforcing these laws,” Smith said. “But again, just understand we’re enforcing them to save lives, try to reduce crashes, and make sure there are no empty seats at holiday dinner. So, please, if you see something, we ask you to say something.”

The campaign runs from November 22 through November 30.