Hope, AR — This Thanksgiving holiday, Hope Police Department is teaming up with the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to remind
drivers — and everyone in the car — to buckle up. Hope Police Department’s high-visibility
Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign, which runs from November 24-30, 2025,
focuses on reducing the number of fatalities that occur when vehicle passengers fail to buckle
up. If law enforcement spot someone unbelted, they will pull the driver over and issue a
ticket.

During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2023 (6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 22, to
5:59 a.m. on Monday, November 27), there were 309 passenger vehicle occupants killed in
traffic crashes across the nation, and 44% (135) 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.

Riding without a seat belt is illegal and dangerous. In 2023, nearly 50% of all people killed in a
vehicle crash were not buckled. Drivers should ensure that they and all passengers are
buckled before the vehicle ever leaves its parking spot. Buckling the seat belt is the single
most effective thing anyone can do to stay safe in the event of a crash.

“Buckle your seat belt to stay safe and to stay legal,” said Chief of Police Kim Tomlin. “If
our law enforcement officers spot you riding without a seat belt, we will pull you over and
issue a ticket. The bottom line is this: That seat belt may 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/SeatBelts.