CPD Encourages Wearing Seat Belts

The Cambridge Police Department will start visibly cracking down on seat belt usage, according to a statement released by the department yesterday morning.

In a cooperative nation-wide effort conducted in conjunction with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division, the state police, and about 190 other local police departments, the CPD will launch a high-visibility seat belt enforcement “blitz” called “Click It Or Ticket.”

Current Massachusetts law states that a driver can only be charged with a seat belt violation if they are stopped for a possible traffic violation.

The increased enforcement will run from May 23 through June 5—during the same time as Harvard Commencement ceremonies and many class reunions.

“Too many people still believe that a crash will never happen to them,” said Robert C. Haas, Cambridge police commissioner in the released statement.

The crackdown—during which officers will be checking if drivers and passengers are wearing their seat belts—marks the first state-wide seat belt program this year, aimed at increasing seat belt use and decreasing motor vehicle deaths and injuries.

In order to motion an increase in attention to the issue, the police departments have enacted a zero tolerance policy for seat belt violations.

“Unfortunately these tragedies can and do happen every day, and the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is by wearing your seat belt and making sure that everyone in the vehicle with you wears their seat belt as well,” Haas said.

Fifty-two percent of the passengers killed in motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts during 2009 were not wearing their seat belts during the crash, the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration reported. This amount was 3 percent higher than the national average.

“A lot of people shrug off the statistics because they see themselves as good drivers,” said Deputy Stephen A. Ahern, commanding officer of the Cambridge Police Traffic Unit, in the released statement. “They forget that they can still be hurt by other reckless drivers and that their best defense against injury is to buckle up.”

The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s mission is to reduce fatalities, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts, according to their website.

The mobilization was made possible through a federal grant form the Highway Safety Department along with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division and other partners.

“No more excuses,” the release said.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.