On May 19th, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Leonardtown and Prince Frederick Barracks of the Maryland State Police, conducted seatbelt compliance checks on both sides of the Thomas Johnson Bridge as part of the Border2Border Seat Belt Compliance Initiative.
During the operation, a total of 1,728 vehicles passed through and 70 vehicles were stopped. Those vehicle stops resulted in 34 seatbelt citations, 16 cellphone citations, 1 license citation, 16 warnings and 1 safety equipment repair order.
Each year more than 120 people, who are not wearing a seat belt at the time of a crash, die on Maryland’s roadways. Even low speed crashes can produce serious injuries or fatalities to unbelted vehicle occupants. This month the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office is participating in the Click it or Ticket campaign, which runs from May 11th through May 31st. The goal is simple – to remind all drivers and passengers about the lifesaving benefits of wearing a seat belt every time you ride in a vehicle, day or night, and in every seat.
Maryland crash data shows those who were reported as unbelted at the time of their crash were 67 percent more likely to sustain a moderate to fatal injury. The data also shows seat belts reduce the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. In 2014, more than 92 percent of drivers and front-seat passengers in Maryland were observed to be wearing their seatbelts, but crash data shows that an alarming percentage of people killed in crashes were unbelted.
Besides potentially saving your life, putting on your seat belt could mean keeping money in your pocket. A fine will cost you $83 including court costs.
More than 89,000 seat belt citations are written each year in Maryland. St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office wants to see 100 percent seat belt use. Therefore, deputies will except no excuses.