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The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is working with law enforcement to remind Texas drivers to wear their seat belt every ride, every time. Tx-DOT’s annual Click It or Ticket campaign started May 19 and runs through June 1. It aims to save lives by getting drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts 100% of the time.
This includes focusing efforts on ticketing drivers who fail to buckle up or secure their kids in car seats. Texas law requires everyone in a vehicle to buckle up or face fines and court costs up to $200. Children younger than 8 years old must be in a child safety seat or booster seat unless they’re taller than 4 feet 9 inches. If they aren’t properly restrained, the driver faces fines up to $250 plus court costs.
Most Texans buckle up, yet too many crashes turn deadly because someone wasn’t wearing a seat belt. In 2024, 1,069 people who died in collisions on Texas roads were not buckled up. Nearly 60% of these fatalities occurred at night.
“We all think a crash will never happen to us, but it can happen any time we get in a vehicle,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said. “A seat belt can save your life or prevent a serious injury, but only if you’re wearing it. Take those quick seconds to buckle your seat belt every time, day and night.”
Polk County Sheriff ’s Deputy Caleb Boyer learned that lesson the hard way in May 2023. He rushed to the scene of an emergency without pausing to buckle his seat belt. He swerved to avoid hitting a pickup truck pulling an unlit trailer and that’s when his car went off the highway, going airborne and rolling over twice. Not buckled in, he was ejected several feet from his patrol vehicle. He lost his left leg and almost lost his life.
“This experience has definitely changed my perspective. No one is invincible,” Boyer said. “Now, every time I get in any vehicle, I always make sure to buckle up. And I’ve taught my 9-yearold son to do the same.”
No one wants to be pulled over, but the objective is to save lives and prevent injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the Click It or Ticket initiative in Texas has saved more than 8,200 lives, prevented 148,000 serious injuries and resulted in $33 billion in economic savings since its inception in 2002.
The Click It or Ticket campaign is an important part of Tx-DOT’s “Drive like a Texan: Kind. Courteous. Safe.” initiative. Learn more at Drive-LikeATexan.com.
