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Griffo Urges Drivers to Buckle Up
as Part of Statewide Traffic Safety Effort

Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo today reminded Oneida County drivers that local law enforcement agencies will be on the alert over the next two weeks as part of a statewide enforcement effort to increase seat belt use.

“From May 24^th to June 6^th, police agencies will be stepping up enforcement of this vital law,” Griffo said. “There are two very powerful reasons to buckle up. It saves lives, both for drivers and passengers. Secondly, in New York , it’s either ‘Click It or Ticket,’ and the fines that drivers have to pay for failure to buckle up are not cheap.”

Citing figures from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, Griffo noted that New York has shown vast increases in seat belt use. In 1984, the year the state’s seat belt law was enacted, approximately 16% of individuals wore seat belts. One thousand twelve (1,012) people who were unrestrained died in motor vehicle crashes. In 1985, the year the seat belt law went into effect, the compliance rate was 57%, and unrestrained deaths dropped to 644. In 1993, the compliance rate was 71%, and in 2003 it climbed to 85%. The goal of the "Buckle Up New York" seat belt campaign is to increase compliance to 86% in 2004.

“The good is that most people protect themselves and their passengers. But despite the fact that seat belts save lives, we are still losing too many people to fatal accidents in which the victims did not wear any seat belts. This is even more tragic when those killed are children riding in a car driven by an adult whose disdain for this law turned into a fatality,” said Griffo, noting that 30 percent of highway deaths in New York State occurred to occupants who were unrestrained. This was a greater factor than alcohol or excessive speed.

            Michael Colangelo of Oneida County Traffic Safety, the “Buckle Up” Coordinator for Oneida County , noted that seat belts are mandatory for drivers, front seat passengers and all rear seat passengers under age 16. All children under 4 years old must be restrained in a federally approved child safety seat.

            “Seat belts are a basic common sense way to avoid tragedy,” Colangelo said. “Seat belts are also the law. That’s why we in Oneida County join the rest of the state in saying, ‘Buckle up, New York .’”