RALEIGH – The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program is reminding everyone to buckle up while traveling during the Thanksgiving season.
GHSP partnered with the Mooresville Police Department, NASCAR driver Ross Chastain and others this week at the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame to launch the statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign. From Nov. 25-Dec. 1, law enforcement officers across all 100 counties will increase patrols to keep everyone safe during the holiday travel period.
“For most, Thanksgiving means community gatherings, family, friends and food but every year, for a small number of North Carolinians, Thanksgiving means tragedy,” said GHSP Director Mark Ezzell. “It means that somebody has to knock on the door and tell someone that a loved one is not coming home because they did not wear their seat belt.”
Last year in North Carolina, 495 people died in unbuckled crashes, including five people in Iredell County where officials hosted this week’s Click It or Ticket event.
Choosing not to buckle up is dangerous and can be expensive. Drivers in North Carolina can face up to $187 in fines and fees if anyone in their vehicle is not wearing a seat belt.
“Wearing a seat belt is not just a good habit, it is the law,” said Mooresville Police Chief Campurciani. “Our goal is to make sure that everyone arrives to their destination safely.”
Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Recently, Campurciani had to explain to a 9-year-old boy that his older brother, who was unbelted, was killed in a car crash while coming home from football practice.
“The kid was sitting on the couch with his football waiting for his brother to play catch with him when he got home,” Campurciani said. “He’s still waiting for his brother to come home.”
This week’s event was held not far from the Mooresville home of NASCAR driver Ross Chastain, who is working with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to promote safe driving practices.
Chastain said seat belts are so important to his livelihood he wears nine of them to keep him safe in case of a crash.
“If one person sees this and buckles their seat belt and it saves their life, then all of this was worth it,” Chastain said.
