Click it or Ticket - Annual Seat Belt Awareness Campaign

The state Office of the Attorney General announced today, the start of New Jersey’s annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign, a statewide high-visibility enforcement and public awareness effort to increase seat belt use and reduce preventable deaths and injuries on Garden State roadways.

From May 18 to May 31, 2026 increased patrols will be conducted statewide. Officers will be looking for unbuckled drivers and passengers and checking that children are properly secured in appropriate car seats or booster seats or using seat belts.

Officials say the campaign is part of a nationwide effort to emphasize that proper restraint use saves lives.  Law enforcement officers across New Jersey will be looking for drivers and passengers who are not wearing seat belts over the next two weeks.

Under New Jersey law, drivers and passengers are required to wear seat belts, and drivers are responsible for ensuring that passengers under the age of 18 are properly restrained. Children under age 8 and shorter than 57 inches must be secured in the appropriate child passenger restraint system, based on the child’s age, height, and weight.

Nationally, in 2024, 9,758 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts. Among the young adults (18 to 34) passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2024, 59% were unbuckled — one of the highest percentages for all age groups.  (NHTSA)

In New Jersey, authorities said 135 people killed in crashes in 2024 were not wearing seat belts. That’s most recent year for which that data is available. In 2023, 117 people killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.

The Vincent R. Gagliardi Foundation urges you and your passengers to always wear your seat belt.

Always Remember to Buckle Up