State steps up seatbelt enforcement starting Monday

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State officials are promising heightened round-the-clock enforcement during the  "Click It Or Ticket" campaign that begins Monday.

Concentrated patrols will check for seatbelt violators on interstates by day, and there will be roadchecks on state and county roads at night.

The campaign is aimed at reducing fatalities and injuries during the Thanksgiving travel period. In the 102-hour holiday weekend last year, 19 Georgians died and 1,457 were hurt in 3,815 crashes.

"This is not about writing more tickets -- it's about saving more lives," said Bob Dallas, director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

Dallas said 136 lives could have been saved in 2008 if all drivers and passengers had been wearing seatbelts during serious crashes.