BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – The Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) is kicking off its Click it or Ticket campaign March 7-23 to encourage safe driving across West Virginia.
Fifty percent of people who died in a motor vehicle accident were not wearing a seatbelt, which reduces the risk of serious injury and fatal crashes.
The simple act of buckling up when you get in your vehicle can drastically change your future outcome and that of others.
With the seatbelt penalty just $25 and no court cost, Beckley Police Department Sgt. Jamie Wilhite says unfortunately, that doesn’t deter people who don’t want to put on a seatbelt.
“We have some people who, for whatever reason, think they’re going to flip a car, stay inside a car, and then somehow the belt is gonna keep them from getting outside the car,” he said is the mentality.
“That absolutely could be the case in some small percentage of incidences,” added Wilhite. “But as a whole and the studies show airbags and seatbelts work together as one. You’re much safer inside the vehicle than on Interstate 64 or 77, getting thrown from your vehicle. And the only way that can happen is by wearing your seatbelt.”
