LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This Thanksgiving holiday, Arkansas law enforcement is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the State’s Highway Safety Office on a high-visibility Click It or Ticket seat belt awareness and enforcement campaign. From Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, Arkansas State Police Troopers, sheriff’s deputies and local police officers will be working together to reduce the number of fatalities that occur when motor vehicle passengers fail to buckle up by enforcing the state’s safety belt laws.

During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2022 (6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23, to 5:59 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 28), there were 326 passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes across the nation, and 43% (141) were unrestrained. Not wearing a seat belt proved to be deadly at any time of the day during the holiday weekend: 47% of those killed in nighttime crashes were unbuckled, and 38% of those killed in daytime crashes also were unbuckled. These deaths represent needless tragedies for families across America and may have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt.

"Buckle your seat belt to stay safe and to stay legal,” said Arkansas Public Safety Secretary Colonel Mike Hagar. “Whether you’re driving cross-country or across town, whether it is day or night, and no matter the type of vehicle, it is essential that drivers and passengers wear seat belts. The bottom line is this: That seat belt may very well mean the difference between life and death. This Thanksgiving, and every day of the year, remember: Click It or Ticket.”

For more information about traveling safely this Thanksgiving, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts or call the Arkansas Highway Safety Office at (501) 618-8136, and go to https://www.tzdarkansas.org/ to learn about Arkansas’ Toward Zero Deaths campaign to eliminate preventable traffic fatalities.