FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PR02-007
Contact:

Date:
Sergeant Clarence Huber

May 20, 2002
(404) 730-4148
  

 
 Sheriff’s Office Cracks Down During “Click-It or Ticket” Week While Educating Teens On Seat Belt Safety
 

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is cracking down on drivers who fail to buckle up. During “Click-It or Ticket” week, deputies from the Service and Patrol Division will establish checkpoints throughout the county to enforce existing state seat belt laws as part of a national effort to encourage motorists to buckle up.

Each year, the Sheriff’s Office actively participates in the Operation ABC/Click-It or Ticket mobilization campaign. Deputies will be distributing educational material to drivers on the importance of air bag and seat belt safety. At the same time, they will be enforcing existing seat belt and child safety restraint laws by ticketing drivers who fail to comply.

This year, the national campaign is focusing a special emphasis on teen drivers. Each year, more than 4,000 teenagers die in traffic crashes. The fatality rate for teens are twice that of older drivers, and the risk of crashes for teens is four times higher.

While the “Click It or Ticket” efforts in Fulton County are expected to have an impact on teen and adult drivers, the Sheriff’s Office “Community Relations Section” will be educating teen drivers on seat belt safety tomorrow morning at Tri-Cities High School in East Point. Beginning at 9:00 AM, deputies will be teaching the B.U.G.S. program (Buckle Up Georgia Students) to 11th and 12th grade students. The forty minute multimedia presentation is presented by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and funded by the Georgia Governors Office of Highway Safety. The program brings to light the deadly consequences that occur when people fail to buckle up. It also provides safety tips for students to follow each time they enter an automobile. The B.U.G.S. program is the department’s first high school based crime prevention program, and will be offered to all Atlanta/Fulton County High Schools beginning this fall.

 

For further information on the B.U.G.S. Program or checkpoint locations throughout Fulton County, please contact Sergeant Clarence Huber at (404) 730-4148.  Sergeant Huber can also be reached on his digital pager at (404) 742-6798.