Wilton Police remind residents that with the Thanksgiving Weekend upon us, Connecticut's law enforcement agencies intend to promote safe driving and increase the protection of all motorists.
"Law enforcement officials are out on Connecticut's roads enforcing the State Occupant Protection laws and issuing citations to those who are unbuckled," Wilton Police say.
Arrive at Thanksgiving Dinner Safe and Sound: Buckle Up-Every Trip. Every time.
Facts:
Whether you’re traveling across town or across the country, it’s always essential to wear your seat belt.
Thanksgiving weekend, millions of Americans will hit the roads, eager to spend time with family and friends. It’s one of the busiest travel times of the year, and unfortunately, that means more crashes.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reminding everyone that seat belts save lives. Buckling up provides the best defense against injury or death in a crash.
In 2015, there were 22,441 passenger vehicle occupants (in passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, or SUVs) killed in traffic crashes in the United States. Almost half (48%) of those who were killed were not wearing seat belts.
The facts don’t lie: when you wear your seat belt as a front-seat occupant of a passenger car, your risk of fatal injury goes down by 45 percent. For light-truck occupants, that risk is reduced by 60 percent. Make this Thanksgiving different from years past.
During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2015 (6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, to 5:59 a.m. on Monday, November 30), there were 301 passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes across the nation.
Nighttime is deadlier than daytime in terms of seat belt use. Over the 2015 Thanksgiving weekend, 57 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes at night were unbuckled, compared to 49 percent during the day.