Vermont Achieves Record Safety Belt Use Earns $3.7 Million

Vermont Achieves Record Safety Belt Use
Earns $3.7 Million in Additional Transportation & Public Safety Funding
Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Jim Douglas today announced that the state's Click It or Ticket campaign has resulted in a record safety belt use rate of 87.3% in Vermont and an additional $3.7 million for the state's transportation and public safety programs.
Governor Douglas said this is the highest safety belt use rate ever documented in Vermont.
"Vermont's extraordinary law enforcement agencies, safety advocates and a number of private partners and citizens worked together to attain this level of use and together we are saving lives," the Governor said. "This year, our educational campaign was the most comprehensive ever, including partnerships with Thunder Road race track, Bond Auto, the American Red Cross, Clear Channel Radio, Chittenden Bank, AAA Northern New England, Vermont Voltage Soccer Team, Agency of Transportation and Vermont Information Centers."
The Click It or Ticket campaign has been an annual effort coordinated by the Department of Public Safety and the Governor's Highway Safety Program since 2002. Before the series of campaigns began, Vermont's safety belt use rate was only 67.4%.
As a result of attaining a belt use rate that exceeds 85% for the second consecutive year, Vermont qualifies for a federal incentive payment of $3.7 million dollars, Governor Douglas added.
Vermont can use these funds for any project that improves a hazardous roadway or proactively addresses highway safety problems. And at least 1 million dollars of the funds received by Vermont under this incentive will be used for public safety programs.
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