Nebraska State Patrol kicks off ‘Make It Click’ campaign for the holidays

The Nebraska State Patrol launches statewide ‘Make It Click’ campaign to reduce the number of fatalities that occur when vehicle passenger fail to buckle up.
Published: Nov. 25, 2024 at 8:39 PM CST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - The Nebraska State Patrol launched its statewide ‘Make It Click’ campaign to reduce the number of fatalities that occur when vehicle passenger fail to buckle up.

According to NSP, Nebraska ranks 49th in the country in seat belt usage. So far in 2024, there have been 223 vehicle fatalities, with 70% of these individuals not wearing seat belts. NSP said the holidays are busy time for traveling and they want to make sure everyone make it to their holiday gatherings. Make It Click is an annual campaign created by NSP to encourage drivers to drive safely and buckle up.

Dean Riedel, captain of NSP Troop C, said this is just a friendly reminder for drivers to be safe on the roads during a common peak time for traveling.

“Precautions as we know seatbelts usages is a high capability that will probably end up saving your life,” Riedel said. “So that’s one of the emphasis on that but also we know the weather is going to be changing and what that looks like just trying to help people prepare for the weather and those travel seasons making sure people are safe.“

Riedel said people should notify their families and friends where they’re going and check weather and road conditions with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up.

Sgt. Jeremy Jones of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said seatbelts can save lives and there will be extra enforcement to stop vehicles and if seatbelts are being used in Hall County.

“These deputies that will be working overtime we be able to focus primarily on traffic stops and enforcing traffic,” Jones said. “They’re not distracted with anything else that’s they’re primary focus and we will be able to accomplish a lot more on the road that way.”

The Nebraska Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office said drivers and passengers are 45% more likely to survive a crash if they are wearing their seatbelts.

Law enforcement agencies said they will be performing high visibility patrols across the state to reduce the fatal and serious crashes that happens in Nebraska. NSP said they will be looking for seat belt and child passenger restraint violations during traffic stops

Click here to subscribe to our KSNB Local4 daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.