Jasper police ramp up seat belt checks during Click It or Ticket campaign

Jasper police have put more officers on Jasper streets and nearby roads for a May 11-31 seat belt enforcement push that can end in traffic stops and citations for drivers who fail to buckle up.

The Jasper Police Department said the extra patrols are part of Click It or Ticket, the national Memorial Day campaign that targets unbelted drivers and passengers before summer travel ramps up. During the 21-day period, officers are working overtime to check seat belts and child restraints, including whether children are riding in properly secured car seats or booster seats.

The enforcement effort is backed by federal traffic-safety money through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and administered in Indiana through the Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute said it uses that funding to coordinate traffic-safety campaigns and crash-data work with state and local agencies.

Statewide and national numbers show why the campaign is being pressed now. Indiana’s seat belt use reached 94.1% in 2025, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the national rate was 91.2% in 2024. Even so, federal safety officials said unbuckled seat belts were involved in a passenger-vehicle death every 54 minutes last year.

For Jasper drivers, the practical stakes are immediate. Indiana has a primary seat belt law, which means officers can stop and ticket a driver solely for failing to buckle up. Drivers also can be cited for each unbuckled passenger under age 16. Children under 8 must be in a federally approved child restraint system, which is often a booster seat.

The campaign is as much about prevention as punishment. Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director Douglas Huntsinger said seat belts remain one of the simplest and most effective protections in a vehicle. Jasper Assistant Chief Aaron Persohn has emphasized that buckling up is both a legal duty and a shared responsibility for families.

Indiana also says it has more than 1,800 certified child passenger safety technicians and instructors, along with more than 100 car-seat fitting stations, to help parents and caregivers choose and install the right restraint. The message behind the Jasper crackdown is plain: more patrols, more stops, and a lower tolerance for avoidable injuries on Dubois County roads.