DOVER, Del. — The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is urging drivers to buckle up during the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) national Click It or Ticket enforcement effort. OHS is partnering with local and state police to conduct high-visibility enforcement from May 20 to June 9 to ensure drivers and passengers buckle up on every trip.
“In 2023, Delaware achieved its highest seatbelt usage rate at 93.9 percent. Despite this, 50 percent of our roadway fatalities were still unrestrained,” said Sharon Bryson, Director of the Delaware Office of Highway Safety. “This proves that we must continue to remind Delawareans of the importance of using a seatbelt. This enforcement is not about citations; it’s about saving lives. We see the devastating results of not wearing a seatbelt too often. Buckling up takes only seconds and significantly increases the chances of surviving a crash.”
Over the past five years in Delaware (2019-2023), younger adults were the most likely to be involved in unrestrained crashes, with the highest number of unrestrained occupants aged under 30 (49 percent). Occupants aged 19 and under were involved in the most crashes within this group. In May 2023, 86 percent of drivers and passengers involved in a collision and wearing a seatbelt sustained no injuries. Seatbelts work and significantly decrease the chances of death or serious injury in a crash.
In conjunction with this campaign, OHS wants to remind everyone of the updated Car Seat Law in Delaware, which takes effect on June 30, 2024.
**Old Law:**
- All children must be properly restrained in a federally approved child safety seat appropriate for the child's age, weight, and height up to 8 years of age or 65 lbs.
**New Law (Effective June 30, 2023):**
- Children under age 2 AND 30 pounds must ride in a rear-facing car seat.
- Children under age 4 AND 40 pounds must ride in a harnessed car seat.
- Children in booster seats must remain in their booster seat until reaching the height or weight maximum listed by the booster seat manufacturer. No booster seat has a height maximum lower than 4'4" or a weight maximum less than 80 pounds.
- Airbags are not enough to protect you; the force of an airbag can seriously injure or even kill you or your young passengers if not properly buckled up or in the right car seat.
- Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below your arm, puts you and your children at risk in a crash.
Officials remind everyone of the following safety tips as well:
- The lap belt and shoulder belt should be secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which can withstand crash forces better than other parts of your body.
- Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
- The lap belt should rest across your hips, not your stomach.
- Never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.
- Children are much more likely to buckle up if their caregivers also buckle up.
- Don’t rush to transition your child to the next car seat. Follow the guidelines and keep your child in each stage of child restraint as long as possible.
For more information on the campaign, statistics, and education, click here.