NEW JERSEY — Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety announced the start of the state’s annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign, a statewide enforcement and awareness effort aimed at increasing seat belt use and reducing traffic deaths and injuries.
The campaign runs from May 18 through May 31 and coincides with the busy Memorial Day travel period. During the initiative, law enforcement agencies across New Jersey will conduct increased patrols focused on seat belt compliance, child passenger safety and other dangerous driving behaviors.
Police will be looking for unbuckled drivers and passengers, while also checking that children are properly secured in car seats, booster seats or seat belts appropriate for their age and size.
To support the campaign, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety is providing $774,760 in grant funding to 113 law enforcement agencies throughout the state for enforcement and public education efforts.
“Compliance with New Jersey’s seat belt and child passenger safety laws is a critical public safety priority,” said Attorney General Davenport. “As New Jersey works toward a future with zero roadway fatalities, we must do everything we can to protect ourselves and our passengers, particularly the youngest and most vulnerable. Every driver and passenger can take one immediate step to protect themselves and others: buckle up and make sure every child is properly secured on every trip.”
Under state law, drivers and passengers must wear seat belts, and drivers are responsible for ensuring passengers younger than 18 are properly restrained. Children younger than 8 years old and shorter than 57 inches must use an appropriate child passenger restraint system.
According to state officials, front-seat seat belt usage in New Jersey reached nearly 95% following last year’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign, about four percentage points above the national average.
“New Jersey has made important progress, and most drivers understand that seat belts save lives,” said Michael J. Rizol Jr., Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “But there is still more work to do. Everyone should buckle up, no matter where they are seated. While front-seat seat belt use remains high, too many back-seat passengers continue to ride unrestrained. One unbuckled passenger puts everyone in the vehicle at risk. Everyone needs to buckle up, and every child needs to be properly restrained, every seat, every trip.”
State officials said 135 people killed in New Jersey crashes in 2024 were not wearing seat belts, accounting for 43% of all vehicle occupant fatalities statewide. Officials also noted that one in four unrestrained fatalities involved people between ages 21 and 30.
During last year’s campaign, participating agencies issued more than 5,300 seat belt summonses, along with thousands of speeding and cell phone violation citations.
Officials said the campaign is part of broader summer enforcement efforts targeting speeding, impaired driving and Move Over law violations during the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
A complete list of agencies receiving grant funding can be viewed on the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety website.
