‘Click-it or Ticket?’ More like ‘Cash-it’ in Pierce County

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the Washington State Patrol this week launched another campaign to go after drivers who refuse or forget to wear their seat belts. While I won’t stand in the way of encouraging safe driving habits, this seems less about the “click-it” and more about the “ticket.”

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign will offer extra patrols in Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, and other Pierce County cities. But, according to a 2015 survey by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, about 95 percent of people in the state already wear seat belts.

So we’re spending extra money on patrols for about 5 percent of the statewide population (not even 5 percent of the Pierce County population)?

To put this in context, eight people died in Pierce County due “in part” to not wearing a seat belt, the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Every life matters, but this is hardly a statistical shock and there’s no indication as to what role not wearing a seat belt actually played in the deaths. Would a seat belt have helped? Probably. But it also depends on the circumstances of the crash.

This smells more of a desire to collect the $136 in ticket fees. I don’t think it’ll change behavior.

I am admittedly suspicious when it comes to the state cashing in on traffic infractions when there’s not much indication the ticket will stop bad behavior. What makes you think a mere $136 ticket will remind people to buckle up if the driver is dumb enough not to be safe to begin with?

Remember, we need extra patrols to try to catch people not wearing seat belts (remember, only about 5 percent of the population isn’t wearing them). That means the chances of getting ticketed any other day out of the year is extremely low. Couldn’t getting a ticket be justified because you’re unlikely to get a second or third ticket? It’s a dumb justification but we’re not talking about the brightest bulbs if they’re unwilling to put on a simple seat belt.

Why not continue with the public education? Do we need more patrolling drivers when so few aren’t wearing seat belts? Reach them with advertisements (radio!) and save the money on patrols.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz